Harvest season has begun in southeast Iowa, and drivers should be mindful of traffic safety with active farm equipment. The fall harvest time is busy and is the time when agriculture reports the highest number of injuries, according to data from Iowa State University and Extension.

This time of year, drivers will notice ag equipment moving to different fields or grain wagons transporting grain into town. Oncoming traffic may be less patient and pull out suddenly to pass the farm equipment directly into your path of travel, so it’s not just the agricultural vehicles to look out for.

Those operating equipment should ensure adequate lighting, especially in the evenings, so that other vehicles have more time to react to your movements. The most common cause of accidents is speeding and failing to react to the situation ahead of them in time.

According to the USDA, 16% of southeast Iowa’s corn has been harvested for grain, ahead of the five-year average of 5% for this point on the calendar.