Right Sign in the Right Place
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber &
Lars Leland
Public Policy Project Group Two
Class 37 of the
AGFORESTRY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
2016
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
Background
Public policy group members and groups were selected and presented to the class at the Wenatchee
Seminar in mid-November 2014. This was the second seminar of the program so there was still very little
familiarity with each member of the class. Our group consists of four individuals: Jon Paul Driver, Chris
Hartman, Kara Kaelber and Lars Leland. The first order of business was to get to know each other and
review each other's personality assessments that were completed at the first Group Dynamics Seminar
in Pullman. It turns out our group was weighted towards having a direct results oriented personality. We
knew that communications would be to-the-point and the project could move effectively forward. Our
potential pitfalls may come from a lack of attention to detail and certain members may become
impatient if the project stalled.
Next item was to focus on what topic would we like to select. A number of topics were discussed from
updating the Northwest Forest Plan to legislation that would allow for utilities to satisfy their
requirements for renewable energy through the use of hydropower. We finally focused in on Slow
Moving Vehicle (SMV) signs.
The reason our group selected the Slow Moving Vehicle sign was due to our group member Jon Paul
Driver’s experiences driving down several rural roads in slow moving vehicles (those going under 25
mph). His near death experiences and his concern for his wife’s safety as she drove the same equipment
down these roads led him to think that perhaps the use of the sign on stationary objects was indeed
lowering the signs efficacy for drivers who are not familiar with farm equipment. Jon’s sincere concern
for safety for him and his family made a convincing case for our group to pursue this as our policy
project.
The Issue
The issue being addressed by our public policy group is the use of Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) signs
(orange triangle) on stationary objects such as mailboxes and fence posts to mark driveway entrances.
Our group believes this has lowered the efficacy of the sign and, in turn, has increased the risk of
accidents for those drivers operating equipment required to use SMV signs. The problem is that too
many drivers see the sign used in an inappropriate way and then do not understand its meaning when
placed properly on the back of equipment traveling at less than 25 mph. Horrific accidents can happen
when drivers rear-end slow moving vehicles because they don’t understand what the sign really means.
We believe this is an important issue of safety for all drivers.
Page 1 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
History
It was Ohio State Universities Department of Agricultural Engineering that originally took the first step
and looked for a way to protect those who need to operate slow moving equipment on public roadways.
In the late 1950's Walter McClure and Ben Lamp began a 10 year retroactive study of fatal tractor
accidents. Their initial research showed an alarming number of accidents involving slow moving vehicles
during highway travel. Approximately 65% of accidents involving slow moving vehicles on the highway
were rear-end collisions.
The design of the Slow Moving Vehicle sign was completed in 1962. After testing various designs, a
triangular-shaped emblem with a 12-inch-high fluorescent orange center and three 1 ¾-inch-wide red
reflective boarders was determined to be the most effective design for day and night visual
identification. The Goodyear Rubber and Tire Company sponsored initial public exposure to the SMV
emblem in 1962. An emblem mounted on the back of a farm wagon and towed by a Ford tractor made
a 3,689-mile trip from Portland, Maine to San Diego, California. The new sign was first presented at a
University of Iowa Invitational Safety Seminar. By the early 1970's the sign was adopted by legislation in
many states around the United States and in Canada.
Problem
When SMV signs are used on stationary objects they lose their efficacy and drivers become desensitized
to their intended warning. This is a safety concern for those operators of slow moving vehicles such as
farm equipment and large machinery. When a sign is used in a manner in which is it not intended, the
repercussions could be great.
Below is an example of a rear end collision involving passenger vehicle and farm equipment:
Page 2 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
According to the Washington Traffic Safety Committee there have been 175 accidents involving Slow
Moving Vehicles on County, City and State managed roads resulting in 2 deaths over the last 5 years.
The overwhelming majority of these accidents happened during good driving conditions with vehicles
traveling in the same direction. These statistics illustrate the point that people see the signs but don't
realize that they represent a slow moving vehicle on the road. It is likely they believe they are seeing the
same reflective sign they are used to seeing along the side of the road until it is too late. Below is a
picture of an example of SMV signs being used mark a personal driveway.
Page 3 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
RCW 46.61.075 states “(1) No person shall place, maintain or display upon or in view of any highway any
unauthorized sign, signal, marking or device which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an
official traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal, or which attempts to direct the movement of
traffic, or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of an official traffic-control device
or any railroad sign or signal”. So by using the SMV signs as driveway markers they are unintentionally
breaking the law. The RCW goes on to state: “(4) Every such prohibited sign, signal or marking is hereby
declared to be a public nuisance and the authority having jurisdiction over the highway is hereby
empowered to remove the same or cause it to be removed without notice”. The problem is, local and
state law enforcement either do not recognize this as a problem, or are overwhelmed with larger issues
and have no cause to worry about the improper use of SMV signs.
At this point we began to look for different ways to make this problem relate to more people. At the
Colville Forestry Issues seminar we learned a lot about the Carlton Complex fire that devastated
approximately 350,000 acres of federal, state and private land. One issue identified was how it could be
difficult for first responders to locate people's homes. If there was a standard driveway marker that
clearly identified the address, first responders would be able to locate a home more quickly. A light
went on for our group. We looked for ways to partner with fire departments on a program to install
standard reflective driveway markers with the address on it. Slow Moving Vehicle signs could be taken
down and an easy to identify address marker would be installed. Fire districts could help educate home
owners about the importance of taking down the SMV sign and replace it with a blue reflective address
sign.
Goals
The original goal of the project was to prohibit the use of SMV sign as driveway markers. We thought an
addition or revision to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) or Washington Administrative Code
(WAC) was the right approach, but as mentioned above it is already illegal to use SMV's as driveway
markers. It seems very unlikely if a new rule is created or an existing one is amended that the
enforcement would follow. For that reason, we shifted our approach to an education and outreach
program. Our means and methods for affecting change have shifted but our goal remains the same.
The education campaign will spread the word to farmers, ranchers and homeowners about the
problems and possible solutions to using SMV signs improperly as driveway markers.
We have engaged the local fire districts as well as the Washington Fire Chief Association for support.
This is a critical element because having first responders advocating and leading the charge with a
program to replace non-standard driveway markers with a standard driveway reflective marker that
clearly shows the address would help first responders locate rural homes in the event of an emergency.
Page 4 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
Additionally we engaged with two legislators; Mark Schoesler and Joel Kretz. Representative Kretz has
been working tirelessly concerning reforms in management of public owned timberland to help prevent
and allow for better emergency response to wildfires. We hope to tap into his passion and influence to
promote a standard driveway marker. We are currently working on convincing him that a standard
driveway marker will help emergency responders find homes during wildfires. Senator Schoesler has
been involved in promoting highway safety such as widening highways 195 and 26 in Eastern
Washington. Our group has reached out to Senator Schoesler from the standpoint of showing how
removing SMV's on stationary objects alongside roadways can improve highway safety as well.
Challenges
Some challenges we faced as a group were figuring out how the Revised Code of Washington pertains to
our issue. Tracking down the right people at the Department of Transportation, Transportation
Commission and/or the State Patrol who would know which RCW needed to be enforced and who was
responsible for that was not an easy task. Each agency pointed us to a different one. Finally, it came
down to the State Patrol and local sheriffs who would be the ones enforcing this law, but we were told it
was definitely not a priority. Therefore, we had to shift gears and begin creating an education campaign
instead of a policy change in order to solve our problem. Getting in touch with fire districts, which are
largely volunteer, was also not an easy task. The weather even posed a bit of a challenge as we had a
meeting scheduled with Senator Schoesler in Ritzville in December that had to be cancelled due to a
snow storm that made it impossible to get to. By the time we were able to reschedule it was the
holidays and then January rolled around and we left for our international seminar and the legislature
returned to Olympia.
Successes
A success of this project was reaching out to the Oregon Farm Bureau. Last year Oregon passed a law
making the use of SMV signs on stationary objects illegal, and they utilized the state Farm Bureau to
spread the word. They put together a brochure and presentation to be used at all the county Farm
Bureau meetings to make farmers and ranchers aware of the new law. They were helpful in sharing
with us their legislative language as well as their education materials.
Page 5 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
Another success was our interaction with the Washington State Grange, long time supporters of
agriculture. The state Grange has a long history of political activities including changing the way people
in Washington vote by winning a case in the Supreme Court. This grassroots organization takes local
ideas, from local Granges, passes them to the State Grange where they become part of the official
legislative platform. Jon Paul is a member of his local Grange where he presented our project. Our
project was well received by the Grange and adopted as their official position on Slow Moving Vehicle
signs. Members of Green Bluff Grange were particularly attracted to the added benefit to emergency
service personnel, which the Grange had long supported by selling reflective address signs.
An unforeseen success of our project was the relationships build between the four class members. Jon
Paul was able to ask two other members of the group for personal references for a new job that he
ultimately ended up securing. We had a working relationship and understanding of each other’s
strengths and weaknesses by the second year of working together on the project that we were able to
share that with others.
State, National and International Dimensions of This Issue
This issue is not specific to Washington State. Many states have laws against the use of SMV signs on
stationary objects; however it was difficult to identify if any of them were actually enforced and/or
punishable by a fine. Last year, Oregon passed new legislation to make using the SMV sign on stationary
objects a class C traffic violation punishable up to $160. New York also has a $150 fine associated with
using the sign improperly. This sign is required in both Canada and the United States, but other
countries use different signs on slow moving vehicles.
Alternate Proposals/Solutions
One other alternate solution to our problem was suggested by Jon Paul and that was to contact
companies who use a lot of vehicles that require SMV signs on their equipment. For example, fertilizer
companies (McGregor and Wilbur Ellis) and farm equipment sales companies (RDO and CASE) use a SMV
signs on most of their equipment. We wanted to see if they would be interested in helping with our
campaign to reduce SMV signs on stationary objects. In order to get the money to purchase the blue
address markers, we could solicit donations from these companies to pay for the blue address markers
and in return give them the SMV signs that get replaced by the blue address markers. That way the SMV
signs would come down, the company would get those SMV signs and exchange them with the
homeowner for the blue address markers. This was not pursued due to lack of time left to finish the
project.
Outcomes
We have produced an excellent brochure to be used by the Farm Bureaus to distribute to its members
(see appendix A). We also have made contacts with state representatives who now have the idea of
slow moving vehicle safety on their mind because we have made them more aware of our concern.
Hopefully, this new found awareness may lead to more pro-active approaches to limiting the SMV signs
limited use on stationary objects.
Page 6 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
Mentors
John Stuhlmiller – CEO, Washington State Farm Bureau
Scott Dilley – Associate Director, WA Farm Bureau Government Relations
Matt Manweller - Washington State House of Representatives, 13th District
Jenny Dressler - Director of State Public Policy, Oregon Farm Bureau
Rick Molds – Washington State Department of Transportation
Mike Dornfeld - Washington State Department of Transportation
Mark Schoesler - Washington State Senate, 9th District
Joel Kretz - Washington State House of Representatives, 7th District
Keith David – Vice President of the Washington Fire Chiefs and Assistant Chief of Central Pierce Fire and
Rescue
Page 7 of 7
Class 37, Forestry Leadership Program
Public Policy Project – Group 2
Jon Paul Driver, Chris Hartman, Kara Kaelber, Lars Leland
-
APPENDIX A
Slow Moving Vehicle Sign Brochure
Washington State Grange Support Resolution
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