Guide Promotes Safe Trucking in Agriculture

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is rolling out an effort to educate the agricultural industry about the importance of safe operation on rural roads and highways during planting and harvest seasons.

The purpose of the “Manager’s Guide to Safe Trucking During Agricultural Planting and Harvest Season” is to educate truck drivers and their managers in the agricultural industry about the importance of safe operation during agriculture’s busy seasons and give them active strategies that they can apply.  Much of the information was taken from a comprehensive textbook, “Safety for the Long Haul,” recently released by ATA.

Timing is often critical and flexibility is needed in the agricultural industry to get the job done during the busy seasons.  While government regulations limit truck drivers’ working hours, agricultural haulers are allowed an exemption from these hours of service regulations.  Agricultural operations are accustomed to difficult working conditions and familiar with the importance of operating machinery in a safe manner on the farm and in agricultural processing operations.  Safety is especially critical in the case of truck driving since accidents on the road can affect not only the company but others in the public who share the road.

The guide is available free for anyone to download and print at: www.truckline.com/Federation/Conferences/AFTC