It’s another sure sign of fall: those daylight hours are quickly fading. Yet there is still work to be done, and soon the cast of powerful tractor lights will replace the fading twilight.
I was reminded how important those lights can be while driving home this weekend. I suddenly found myself with one operating headlight, and it was a nervous ride the rest of the way home. Now, a car on a rural road with one functioning headlight is one thing, but a tractor pulling a grain cart, or a combine, on a rural road at night with inadequate, or non-functioning lighting, can be a recipe for disaster.
And we’ve all seen them…one burned out light “that I’ll get to tomorrow” or “it’s just down the road haul.” And I’ve even seen mud and debris block critical lighting on farm implements. It’s all part of farming, but it’s also an area that is even more critical now that daylight hours are shorter.
And there are plenty of advances in lighting systems that make them brighter and more efficient. Yet even the best new technology won’t help if it doesn’t work.
So let’s add lights to the safety checklist. Before hauling, take that once-around with all the lights on.
Do you carry spare lights on your equipment this time of year, especially when you are working after dark?
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