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RayP(MI)
01-11-2008 19:18:11
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Was coming home from plowing out the church today. Came down a hill to a 4-way stop. Stopped just about the time an S-10 pickup did. He was on the right, and I waved him on. A little less than a quarter mile from the intersection, I could see the neighbor working crossways of the road, with a large garden tractor/with/snowblower. He was cleaning up what he had blown into the road. He went clear across, and started back. He was clear back in the first (right) lane and backing, when the S-10 now ahead of me swerved into the left lane clipping the front of the tractor. Blower knocked clear off the tractor. Much damage to the undercarriage, along to under tractor damage in oil pan on tractor. Front of the truck pretty badly damaged, grille, headlight, front bumper, etc. Fortunately, no one hurt, except that the tractor operator had to have gotten quite a jolt. Tractor spun 90 degrees in the road, forced off on the shoulder. I never saw a brake light on the truck... He just barreled down on that tractor. Swerved at the last minute, and BANG! I can"t imagine what possessed him to barrel down on the tractor like that. It was clearly visible - good light - bright green on a white background. I talked with state trooper they sent out, as a witness. She indicated she"d issue a ticket to the driver for failure to stop in the assured clear distance. Said she was also going to ticket tractor operator - didn"t say what for, although she gave him heck for blowing it across the road... Seems local laws prohibit that. Also prohibit leaving it in the road. Tractor operator said he never saw truck coming, and I didn"t see him turn his head and look either. Lesson here is to be extremely careful when working on or around the roads with snow removal equipment.
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