WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation designed to improve safety on rural roads by providing consistency in lighting and marking requirements for agricultural machinery was advanced by recent voice approval from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

“Countless American lives have been spared from roadway tragedy,” stated the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), about similar standards currently enforced by many states that have previously established regulations for the lighting and marking of agricultural equipment.

The Assoc. of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) was among those to laud the committee’s approval of legislation introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.). The measure is expected to be combined with the “highway bill” scheduled for consideration by Congress this year.

“In Minnesota, tractors and combines need to be able to use our roads so that farmers can do their jobs. We need clear safety measures in place to help keep both farmers and families safe when they share the road,” Klobuchar said when announcing the bill last August.

Thune said South Dakotans traversing rural roads commonly share the highways with tractors, trailers and other farm equipment. “Our bipartisan legislation will help provide certainty for farm equipment operators and manufacturers, and will ultimately help make our public roads safer,” he said.

Across the aisle, Reps. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) and Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) submitted a “Dear Colleague” letter to other legislators urging support for the bill.

“State laws apply vary widely, often representing outdated technology,” the letter read. “Fifty-five percent of all traffic fatalities occur on rural two-lane roads where agricultural equipment is moved from field to field during the dimly-lit periods of dawn and dusk, and proper lighting and marking can enhance visibility and increase the safety of transportation on these roads.”

The Thune-Klobacher legislation is the Senate companion to the Hare-Schock House bill, according to Schock’s communications director, Steve Dutton.

“It is great news that last month the Senate Commerce Committee included the bill language in the Senate version of the highway bill,” Dutton stated in an email. “This is a positive development.”

The AEM cited the measure as a proactive step in making U.S. farms and rural communities safer.

“The Agricultural Illumination Safety Act will help eliminate confusion on rural roads and ensure the most advanced technologies and techniques are deployed on new equipment to make them more recognizable when traveling from field to field,” said Dennis Slater, AEM president, of the proposed legislation.

The Illinois Farm Bureau supports legislation regulating agricultural machinery lighting and signage, according to its president, Philip Nelson.

“Illinois Farm Bureau works to enhance the safety of farmers by encouraging them to use and, when necessary, replace safety lighting, markings and reflective devices that are of extreme importance when used on farm machinery,” he said.

Hare’s and Schock’s Agricultural Machinery Illumination Act has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Both the Senate and House versions call for standards to be imposed retroactively and would pose no cost to farmers using existing machinery.