It’s a dangerous time of year for farmers and motorists as more farm equipment is on the roads for the harvest season.

To increase awareness of farm safety, the National Safety Council has declared this week the 54th annual National Farm Safety and Health Week.

Sept. and Oct. are the months with the peak number of farm injuries and accidents due to harvest activities, Charles Schwab, associate professor of agricultural engineering and Iowa State Extension safety specialist, said.

Vehicle collisions are a major cause of accidents as farmers transport their equipment and grain.

According to the National Safety Council, there are several ways motorists can decrease the number of collisions.

The most common collisions occur when drivers go to pass a farm vehicle which is making a left turn.

Drivers should not assume that they can pass a tractor pulling to the right side of the road. It may be preparing to make a wide left turn.

Motorists need to be alert to light or hand singles from the farmer when there are driveways or gates the vehicle may be turning into.

With a large difference in speed, it is also common for rear-end collisions to occur with farm vehicles. Drivers should slow down as soon as they see the slow moving vehicle sign.

The farm equipment may not be designed to travel faster than 25 miles an hour. The recommended following distance for farm equipment is 50 feet.

The third most common collision occurs when drivers try to pass farm vehicles and do not allow enough space to get back.

The farm equipment may be longer or wider than it first appears.

Drivers should make sure they can see the whole farm vehicle before returning to their lane.

Agriculture ranks second to mining as the most dangerous career based on the death rate per workers, Schwab said.

There are an average of 24 deaths per 100,000 workers involved with agriculture, while across all industries, the average death rate is four deaths per 100,000 workers.

The complexity of many different types of tasks and the environmental conditions necessary to perform them are reasons for the high number of accidents, Schwab said.

In contrast, factory workers have adequate lighting and generally do not have weather factors to deal with.