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St. Mary's County commissioner urges caution around combines, tractors during harvest season
Summary
An unnamed St. Mary's County commissioner warned drivers to avoid passing combines and take extra care on county roads during harvest, recounting two near-miss incidents and advising drivers to expect slow, wide farm equipment.
An unnamed St. Mary's County commissioner warned drivers to avoid passing combines and other farm equipment on county roads during harvest season after recounting two near-miss incidents.
The commissioner told the meeting that combines often travel with a truck pulling the header and that the combine itself may travel without the header. "When you're coming downhill and you have the solid line on your side of the road, do not pass the combine," the commissioner said.
Why this matters: harvest season increases slow-moving, wide equipment on rural roads, which raises the risk of collisions when motorists attempt to pass on limited-visibility stretches. The commissioner said he was "almost hit head on yesterday by 1 car, but 1 truck" and that a separate incident occurred the same morning, both of which he described as close calls that ended on the shoulder.
The commissioner urged motorists to allow extra time and patience, saying there is "no need for anybody to get wrecked up just to take, you know, 15 seconds" to pass. He emphasized that road rules — including solid-center-line no-passing zones — still apply around farm equipment and asked residents to "be cognizant of the equipment out there on the roads as they're starting to pull their crops out."
