History Of The SMV Emblem

I was reminded at Farm Science Review that 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the Slow Moving Vehicle emblem.  Dr. Ken Harkness, one of my many good agricultural engineering instructors at Ohio State coordinated the development of this triangle that has saved so many lives since it was developed in 1963.

It's a great story and I encourage you to read it.  I know it has saved my life and it also got me a ticket once when I was driving a tractor down the road without it!

Today it seems like such a small piece on a gigantic piece of farm machinery going down the road, lit up better than any Christmas tree.  Still, there are many of us who aren't using that big machinery every time and it can be the difference of someone slowing down in time not to run into the smaller tractors we may be operating on the highways.

Is it still needed?  I think so.  With the advent of better lighting, the lighting will catch a driver's eye first but the SMV is still a valuable piece of safety equipment.

Orion Samuelson has been pointing out the misuse of the SMV on driveways, gates and other things that are NOT moving.  It was designed to be displayed on a tractor and the last piece of machinery attached to it.

The law says it should be displayed on farm machinery with a maximum speed of 25 MPH but we know how that has changed, too.

What are you doing for National Farm Safety Week on your farm?

Ed Winkle