By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s harvest season and most rural residents know they’ll be confronted with slow-moving tractors and combines as farmers trek from one field to another.

There is another group of farm vehicles (permitted by law) to traverse Ohio country roads – utility vehicles. A new state law went into effect this summer, allowing certain utility vehicles (including Gators, Mules and others with a bed designed to transport cargo) to share the open road.

The new law is part of the 2018-19 transportation budget, formally known as state House Bill 26. It permits vehicles in Ohio to travel on any public road or right-of-way (other than a freeway) when going from one farm field to another, for agricultural purposes.

“During harvest season there is an increased traffic flow on rural roads with agricultural implements and grain trucks,” said Dee Jepsen, Ohio State University extension safety specialist. “Now there are utility vehicles. Understanding these new rules of the road is a shared responsibility between the farm machinery operators and the motoring public.”

A utility vehicle is one designed with a bed, for transporting material or cargo related to agricultural activities. A 2009 law required registration for APVs (all purpose vehicles) and ATVs, defined as “self-propelled vehicles designed primarily for cross-country travel.” But the law exempted APVs and ATVs used for farming.

As long as the utility vehicle is used primarily for agricultural purposes and the owner qualifies for current agricultural use valuation (CAUV), it does not require registration or a license.

Under H.B. 26, utility vehicles are now required to display a triangular slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem. Previously, it was up to local law enforcement to interpret the law and decide whether a utility vehicle should have an emblem, and required farmers to know whether the county or township allowed utility vehicles on the road.

“There are three things to keep in mind before one drives a utility vehicle on the road,” Jepsen said. “First, in order to use it on a public road, a driver must be traveling from one field to another for agricultural purposes. Second, drivers must display an SMV emblem on any utility vehicle used on a public road as it travels between farm fields.

“Finally, the Ohio Revised Code prohibits the placement of earth, mud, manure or other materials on a public highway, so if your tractor or utility vehicle leaves such debris or mud in the roadway, you’d better clean it up.”

According to her, a farmer may drive a utility vehicle on the berm or shoulder of a roadway if the terrain permits such operation to be undertaken safety and without entering a traffic lane.

“If the farmer cannot operate on the berm without entering a traffic lane, the farmer should operate entirely on the roadway,” she noted.

Jepsen said a child who does not legally hold a driver’s license may not operate the utility vehicle on a roadway or any portion of the right-of-way. A child under 16 may operate a utility vehicle on their family’s farm, and may also operate on another’s farm or private property if accompanied by a person who is at least 18 and holds a driver’s license.