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idiot of the year award

R

RayP(MI)

Well-known Member
Was finishing up my outdoor chores tonight by yardlight and flashlight. (in other words, in the dark,) and I heard a motor coming down the road. Headlights reflected oddly off roadside trees and brush. Knew it had to be a farm tractor. ABSOLUTELY NO LIGHTS OR REFLECTORS BEHIND. After it passed, I heard children's voices when they hit the chuckholes at the edge of the cross street pavement. Obviously, he was doing a night time hayride. I can't tell you how dangerous this is.

A few years back, my wife was nurse supervisor at the local hospital. All of a sudden, ambulances started showing up with injured young people. They were not the only hospital getting victims. All the hospitals in the area were flooded with injured vicitims, ambulance services for miles around were pressed into service. Many serious injuries. Seems a fraternity and sorority were having a hayride. (two wagons) Provided by an Amish farmer and his horses. Only lighting was a kerosene lantern which got knocked off by one of the drunken frat boys. Now here comes a drunken driver in a Suburban at a high rate of speed. You can finish the story. Thinking they had to put down the horses as well.

My son and I had done a few hayrides back in the day. Our tractor and wagon were so well lighted it would put a road commission truck to shame, Flashing lights all over, large rotating beacon overhead. Reflectors on sides and rear. Kids in the back provided with flashlights to shine at upcoming traffic. We gave it up, as it seemed too dangerous.

THIS IDIOT WAS OUT THERE WITH NO LIGHTS AT ALL. The liability could ruin any of us, not to mention injuries and possible deaths.

What can I say?
 
All of the night hayrides we have done on all very lightly traveled backroads, we have a well lit wagon and ALWAYS have a pilot truck behind with strobe lights. I have heard of many bad hayride accidents around here too. So we try to be safe as we can
 
some jaskazzes have a hard time to see huge implements in daylight not yet at night. they think they own the road and even give the finger and honk the horn too. myself i would not even think of doing that at night. i have seen all kinds of things drivers do. good they made it safely.
 
Well Ray, we don't live in an area that's exactly known for people with a whole lot of smarts.
 
Since we survived a 65 mph speed limit and hayrides with no tail lighs, makes one wonder what's changed. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dare venture out on a road at night without all kinds of lights, and still wouldn't feel safe. Here's a few thoughts on the subject: roads are better ( I remember trying to give Carmen a kiss and landed a big one right in her eye) so cars drive faster, drivers are less exposed ie. dumber, and of course, more people out on the roads.
 
They just don't care. We used to take the cows across the road to pasture morning and night when I was a kid. Last time we tried, cars were driving right through them without stopping, barely even slowing down. Apparently everybody is the most important person on the road and nothing else or anybody else matters anymore. Add drugs and alcohol to the white trash around here and you've got a deadly situation every time you go near the road.
 
Yup, everyone is the most important person and must come first. cant wait 3 extra seconds. And must reply to this text at the same time.

Paul
 
(quoted from post at 08:50:35 10/21/23) They just don't care. We used to take the cows across the road to pasture morning and night when I was a kid. Last time we tried, cars were driving right through them without stopping, barely even slowing down. Apparently everybody is the most important person on the road and nothing else or anybody else matters anymore. Add drugs and alcohol to the white trash around here and you've got a deadly situation every time you go near the road.
Click to expand...

And I thought this was something new around here. A cop was watching the crosswalk last week. I told him only 1 in 10 will stop when I'm crossing. I assumed he was there to issue tickets but he was just hiding. The worst are the parents taking their kids to school in the morning. They don't want their kids riding the bus, but they have no problem taking out a pedestrian. Yes, the world revolves around them and only them.
 
The last hayride that we hosted was a combined potluck and bonfire and about 80 folks here, young and old. We had two tractors, each with a wagon. One wagon had a 24 high wooden grain box and the other had a 36 high stake rack. We would take 20 to 25 riders in each wagon at a time.
I had no lights on the wagons, BUT...we stayed off of roads except to cross our gravel road from our field trail to a neighbor's woods trail. We only crossed if there were no car lights for 1/2 mile in either direction.
AND, there were rules: stay seated at at all times, no smoking, no jumping off and/or climbing on a moving wagon.
 
When I lived in McCook, people would pass
me at 50-55 in the 35 to do 35-40 in the
65 to take their kids out to the rest area
to catch the bus to the next school
district over.
 
(quoted from post at 15:05:22 10/21/23) Since we survived a 65 mph speed limit and hayrides with no tail lighs, makes one wonder what's changed. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dare venture out on a road at night without all kinds of lights, and still wouldn't feel safe. Here's a few thoughts on the subject: roads are better ( I remember trying to give Carmen a kiss and landed a big one right in her eye) so cars drive faster, drivers are less exposed ie. dumber, and of course, more people out on the roads.
Click to expand...

You forgot cell phones (distracted driving).

When I signed up for my tractor insurance, I had to sign off that I would not take part in pulling competitions or hayrack rides. Only reason given for not being able to pull (which doesn't interest me a whole lot) was the guy at the insurance desk figured my John Deere A could blow up exactly like a tractor with 4 engines. My agent at the time knew better and tried to explain I didn't own "professional" pulling tractors, but they made me sign off none the less.
 
There are SO many that will read this and tell you that you're being a wet blanket and trying to ruin their fun. You're making all of this up, playing the what-if game. Nothing bad is going to happen. They've been doing it for years with no lights no brakes and haven't even had a close call.
 
when I was 4 or 5 one neighbor went out at night to pull a car out of a ditch .The tractor didn't have light on the back , he had his son holding a flashlight on the standing on the drawbar. A car popped over a hill ,hit the tractor . the boy was killed instantly.
 
BarnyardEngineering said:
There are SO many that will read this and tell you that you're being a wet blanket and trying to ruin their fun. You're making all of this up, playing the what-if game. Nothing bad is going to happen. They've been doing it for years with no lights no brakes and haven't even had a close call.
Click to expand...
That sounds like the kind of people who think it's alright to drive 35 in the Wally world parking lot.
 
RayP(MI) said:
Was finishing up my outdoor chores tonight by yardlight and flashlight. (in other words, in the dark,) and I heard a motor coming down the road. Headlights reflected oddly off roadside trees and brush. Knew it had to be a farm tractor. ABSOLUTELY NO LIGHTS OR REFLECTORS BEHIND. After it passed, I heard children's voices when they hit the chuckholes at the edge of the cross street pavement. Obviously, he was doing a night time hayride. I can't tell you how dangerous this is.

A few years back, my wife was nurse supervisor at the local hospital. All of a sudden, ambulances started showing up with injured young people. They were not the only hospital getting victims. All the hospitals in the area were flooded with injured vicitims, ambulance services for miles around were pressed into service. Many serious injuries. Seems a fraternity and sorority were having a hayride. (two wagons) Provided by an Amish farmer and his horses. Only lighting was a kerosene lantern which got knocked off by one of the drunken frat boys. Now here comes a drunken driver in a Suburban at a high rate of speed. You can finish the story. Thinking they had to put down the horses as well.

My son and I had done a few hayrides back in the day. Our tractor and wagon were so well lighted it would put a road commission truck to shame, Flashing lights all over, large rotating beacon overhead. Reflectors on sides and rear. Kids in the back provided with flashlights to shine at upcoming traffic. We gave it up, as it seemed too dangerous.

THIS IDIOT WAS OUT THERE WITH NO LIGHTS AT ALL. The liability could ruin any of us, not to mention injuries and possible deaths.

What can I say?
Click to expand...
My friend's uncle spent a number of years in jail when he hit a poorly lite hayride. It was a long time ago and in upstate New York. He drove clear through the wagon killing several kids and the mules pulling the wagon. I had a friend who was hit in broad daylight, he was pulling a large gravity box with a SMV on a rural road. The young lady said she never saw it. I bet people hit 10 deer in the stretch of road in front of my house last year. We call nighttime speeders deer hunters.
 
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