that was close !

And I was being careful,!. try to picture this!! coming thru the back way my sara and I came up on a old fella I know on a 4020 with a roundbale on the back approaching slowly the horse pen on the right side of the road . the paved county road was straight level and clear for a good distance the 4020 was all but stopt and all indications were that the operator was going to open the right gate and drive in,. I had broght the Lincoln down to a 20 mph or less as I started to go around wide of the 4020, thinking the operator mite run off as I do when getting off the clutch side , so I gave him a wide berth ,,. I AMM GLAD I Did !! as soon as the LINcoln was even with the rear tire I detected the 4020 steering sharp LEFT TOward ME,. I cut that Lincoln hard left into the grass and got out of the way,.. it scared us both,,.. I guess the 4020 driver did not see me when I saw him look back when I was within 50 feet of him ,,. he should have seen us !,but he had ear muffs and a turned up floppy collar because of the 20 degree temps .... funny thing was after the near miss I rolled on slowly another 1/8 mile and watched the 4020 move crossways over the county road , while bloking the entire road , the operator got off to open the gate so he could back the tractor into where the horses were waiting to be fed ,.we know one another , but he don't know that was me in the Lincoln ,. and I figure it is best left that way, I will be more watchful of him ,.. and I am glad my sara was with me so that she could ee how easily such accidents could happen .

Be very wary of him and never ever put trust in him. He almost punched your ticket. Way too close.

I would call him and tell him he better start looking behind him when he is on the road. Somebody else driving came along and didn't know him probably would have dead centered him and ended up killing one or both of the drivers.

I am glad the Lincoln could get out of the way. We read about way too many tractor motor vehicle accidents posted here. You said all indications were he was going to turn right, what indications were there? Or did you just think he was going to go right? Think he changed his mind and decided he was going to the left paddock? That's what I can imagine as I have done the same thing, all of a sudden changed my mind of how I was going to do something and did not think thru what all needed to be considered. Glad all worked out well. Another lesson for us to not anticipate some one else's next move. gobble

If you knew one another, you shoulda put the four/way flashers on the LINcoln. give the guy some help------

Since I drive a large truck and have driven garbage truck (can never tell what they are gonna do) I will always stop and give a truck or someone with a piece of equipment plenty of room or block traffic to help them out. I would talk to him, showing concern for his safety as well as your own, to try and prevent an accident.

I had a close call with my tractor when getting ready to make a left turn. I looked up the road, more than a quarter mile, and it was clear and I prepared to turn but took another look when, whoosh. a police car went by me at a high rate of speed. If I had not taken that last look it would have been one heck of a wreck and I might not bet here today.

I later found out that a woman police officer had been involved in an accident and the policeman in the speeding car was rushing to her aide. Not commenting on speeding police cars, just saying. Happy holidays.

You were the one in the wrong,the lead vehicle always has the right away over someone coming from the rear.The only one you need to talk to is yourself or to apologize to him for about hitting him.

Tom, re-read the story. He did not go into the paddock (pasture) on the left, but was going to back into the one on the right. The tractor driver had no right to BLOCK the road.

Yes, the car driver should have been more careful and waited. But the tractor driver was at fault also.

I had a similar incident a few years ago, except I was the equipment operator. Was on the road with the planter (16 row front fold), getting ready to turn into a field. 4 way flashers were on and turn signal was on to indicate right turn. Central fill tanks on the planter make it impossible to see anyone close behind. I swung wide left so that I could turn right into a narrow field entrance. As I began the turn, I glanced behind, and to my horror, saw a tiny blue car driven by a tiny blond girl, nearly in the ditch on the right, trying to pass me while I was turning that direction. Fortunately, she stopped in time and no contact was made. She smiled and went merrily on her way,as if nothing had happened. Scared the crap out of me.

Glad there was no contact - if that old guy is like this old guy, he probably can't look behind him without standing up and turning around. I have to sit sideways when I'm mowing hay. After an hour or so I'm ok, but then at the end of the day, I can't look forward without turning sideways.

Getting old is literally a pain in the neck.

I know the old guy enuf to stay away from him, talkin to him would only piz him off for life toward me, and he would tell the world that I was a bad nnalert supporter ,. although I may be considered to be wrong ,,the 4020 had the rite wheel in the grass and was all but stopt ,. the horses on the rite were eager for hay ,,. and PERHAPS , BECAUSE OF FEAR OF THEM RUNNING OUT ,. he chose to block the gate with tractor while he opened it,,. the most important thing was there was 50 feet of open land from fence post to fence post available to stay away from him .. .. ,,.. the man did look back, he simply did not see me because of his winter clothing .. I doubt if flashers would make any difference ,,.the STRANGE THING,,. why would anyone choose to completely blok the road that historically has traffic travelin at 55 mph? ,. get off the tractor to open the gate, get back on and BACK INTO THE PASTURE ? ... could it be that he recalls as a boy thathis county road was nuthin but ruts and mud holes that carried horse drawn wAgons going to the mill,. and in those days he and his dad knew everyone, or perhaps he wished to assert to everyone in passing that since this road that divided his farm was carved from his granpas deed with no compensation that he had a rite . or could it be that since he was let go serveral yrs ago from the county road dept that he felt he would push his road rites to the limit, and make every soccer mom in the subdivision behind him stop for him,,. LIKE I Said EALIER ,. I KNOW THE GUY,.and his position. and I have heard his complaints as a county elected official ,when we worked to get farmland preservation in this county . and I get his point ,,. but don't agree with him on all of his issues , but want to remain cordial ,.. and I know how difficult his personality is...

shux the moderater is sensitive ,,. I simply tried tostate , I know this old guy and have heard his firey position against the folx behind him in the subdivision ,, I am a elected official and he came to all our public mtgs w hen we workt to get farmland preservation going in the county.. trouble is ,, at times It was hard to tell whose side he was on ,,. he is just a irritable fella

Were you meeting the guy from the front of passing him from behind? Many open station tractors don't have any rear view mirrors, so it's sometimes difficult or impossible for the operator to check what is behind him before making a left turn. You see rear view mirrors at organized tractor rides, but rarely on open station farm tractors that travel on roads. Why not?

It reminds me of an incident back in the late '60s. An old guy from down the road was gawking at a corn-shelling operation on the farm next to my parents' farm (back when ear corn was stored in cribs). He was driving his old pickup toward me and swung right into the middle of the gravel road, coming straight at me at the instant I approached. If I had braked he would have gone right into me, and I had nowhere to get past him on either side, so I drove my '64 Impala into the ditch and right back onto the road after I was past him. I still remember the shell-shocked look on his face as I went by in the ditch.

, My old man was not a very good driver. When I was a kid we had a 35 Ford pick up. It was a rickety old thing and smoked bad. The old man would go out of the yard with the motor going 90 miles per. Hr. and slipping the clutch and then when he got to the road would never look ,just pull out and go right from low to high gear and the old thing would buck and chug along at top speed for the old man at 35 mph. This one day he pulled right out in front of a man in a wooden station wagon. The man whipped his car to the right out into the wheat field . The field was level with the road. The old man stopped and the car driver cam walking up to the road swearing and hollering at the old man. He said what to heck do you think you own the road ? The old man was very serious as he told the man that he did own the road as his deed called for the property line to the center of the road and he owned both sides of the road. The old man said you are supposed to watch out for other people on the road. Thank god he didn't pull the old man out of that pick up. No one was hurt and the man was able to back out of the field and drive away, If he had of hit us I would not be here today as it would have been a deadly accident.

Yep, I needed to read more slowly and remember he had a bale on the back. I am still thinking he was going to pull in as that is what was indicated, but then decided to back in without looking for approaching traffic. Another LOOK twice lesson and read more slowly lesson. gobble

Reminds me of when I was hauling grain to town this fall. I was on my way home with the tractor and wagons (365 Demco wagons). I put my blinker on, started slowing down and was coming up to make a left turn when this minivan comes flying past me. Thankfully it wasn't too terribly close but if they would have done that 10-15 sec later we would have hit. I don't think they slowed down at all, just switched lanes and went right past me. I understand the blinkers on the wagons aren't quite visible as like a car but still, passing at an intersection without even slowing down?? Really??