Local and state officials are urging motorists traveling the state’s highways this fall to be aware of large farm equipment transporting crops to markets, grain elevators and processing plants.

With record harvests being predicted this year, farmers will be making more trips than usual, said Sue Groth, state traffic engineer.

“Motorists need to be prepared to encounter these slow-moving farm vehicles, especially on rural, two-lane roads,” Groth said.

Because farm equipment is large and heavy, it is often difficult for operators to accelerate, slow down and stop. The machines also make wide turns and sometimes cross over the center line, according to a Minnesota Department of Transportation news release. Farm vehicles can also often have large blind spots, making it difficult for operators to see approaching vehicles.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, there were 151 crashes on Minnesota roads in 2009 involving farm vehicles, resulting in nine fatalities and 78 injuries.

Cheri Marti, director of the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety, said the leading contributing crash factors in farm equipment crashes are inattention, speeding and unsafe passing. She encouraged motorists to slow down and use extreme caution when approaching farm equipment.

Motorists should watch for debris dropped by trucks hauling crops and remember it is safer to brake or drive through debris than to veer into oncoming cars or off the road, the news release states. People should also wait for a safe place to pass and wear seat belts.

Freeborn County Sheriff Mark Harig asked that people have patience during the harvest season.

“Watch for combines, tractors with grain carts and semis,” Harig said. “When they’re following or meeting a combine, make sure it’s clear before they go around it.”

Farm equipment operators should use lights and flashers to make their equipment more visible, use slow-moving vehicle emblems on equipment traveling less than 30 mph and consider using a follow vehicle when moving equipment, especially at night, the release states.

Harig said with an early spring and now an early fall, people may think farmers are going to have a lot of time to harvest their crop. However, any time it rains that pushes the harvest back more.

“Once they get in and it’s dry enough to go, they usually go 24 hours at a time,” he said.