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Questions and Answers on Lighting and Marking of Farm Equipment on Public Roads |
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Questions and Answers on Lighting and Marking of Farm Equipment on Public Roads |
Lighting requirements apply during hours of darkness, as given below.
Farm tractors and self-propelled farm implements operated or parked on a public road must have the same lighted headlamps and tail lamps as are required of other motor vehicles. This means that two headlamps and at least one red tail lamp are required. If a vehicle was originally sold with two tail lamps, both must be working. Tail lamps are to be mounted 20 to 72 inches off the ground.
Implements of husbandry, such as farm wagons or other non-self-propelled farm implements, must have either two red tail lamps or two red reflectors on the rear. Implements manufactured before 1984 are allowed to have only one lamp or two red reflectors. This is in addition to the SMV emblem.
Animal-drawn vehicles are required to have one white lamp visible from the front, and two red lamps visible from the rear marking the width of the vehicle.
A machine should never be operated or parked on the road with a white work light showing to the rear. Besides being prohibited by law, it blinds other drivers and confuses them about what is ahead, and thus is dangerous.
Reference: Wisconsin Statutes 347.10, 347.13, 347.21, 347.24
Although amber flashers are not required by law, they are highly recommended and are authorized by law for any situation that requires caution by approaching motorists. Farmers should strongly consider adding flashers to all tractors and self-propelled implements.
Just like amber flashers, turn signals are not required on farm tractors or self-propelled farm implements by law. However, they are highly recommended, and should always be used if available.
Reference: Wisconsin Statute 347.26
Vehicle trains are defined by law and have special requirements. A typical train of agricultural vehicles would be a tractor and two towed units behind, such as two wagons or an implement and a wagon. No more than two units can be legally pulled behind a tractor without a permit, and the total length must not exceed 60 feet.
During darkness, a red light or red reflector must be located on each side of every vehicle in the train. The statute permits an SMV emblem to be used on the side, instead of a red light or reflector, but this is not recommended because it could easily confuse drivers and is not in conformance with engineering standards for SMV use.
During the day, two red flags, at least 12 inches square, must be displayed on the rear-most vehicle, on at each rear corner.
Reference: Wisconsin Statutes 347.32, 348.08
Although lights must be used on roads during hours of darkness, the best practice is to turn on headlamps, tail lamps, and flashers during the day or night. You want to be seen from as far away as possible by other drivers, and always using your lights is a smart idea that costs nothing.
SMV emblem requirements apply day and night. Any vehicles or equipment, including animal-drawn equipment, which usually travel at less than 25 mph, must have a slow-moving vehicle emblem. This is true day or night. If a tractor has a clearly visible SMV emblem that is not blocked from view by the implement being pulled behind, the implement is not required to have one; however, it is best to have an SMV emblem on every tractor and implement, even if both are visible.
All SMV emblems must be bright and clean, and should be replaced if faded. The emblem must be mounted in accordance with the American Society of Agricultural Engineers standards, which means that it must be mounted or pointing upward, with the lower edge two to six feet off the ground, and either centered or as near to the left of center of the equipment as practical. The display of an SMV emblem for other purposes, such as to mark a driveway or mailbox, is prohibited.
There is one exception to the SMV requirement, and that is for a vehicle or combination of vehicles that have an amber flashing light of at least four inches in diameter attached to the left rear. However, an SMV emblem is always recommended and is simply a good practice.
Reference: Wisconsin Statute 347.245
During hours of darkness, any implement of husbandry that extends four feet or more to the left of the centerline of the towing vehicle must have an amber reflector mounted on the left side, facing forward, so as to mark the extreme width of the implement to drivers of oncoming vehicles.
Reference: Wisconsin Statute 347.24
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