Crashes with farm equipment and slow vehicles

Where you meet farm equipment

Riverside County still has large farming areas. The Agricultural Commissioner reports crop values for four districts: Riverside/Corona, San Jacinto/Temecula Valley, Coachella Valley and Palo Verde Valley. [source] Tractors, harvesters, sprayers and trailers move between fields on public roads, often on two-lane rural roads with few places to pass.

The rules for slow vehicles

• Implements of husbandry. The Vehicle Code treats vehicles used exclusively in agricultural operations as "implements of husbandry" (Vehicle Code § 36000), with their own equipment rules.
• The emblem. A vehicle designed for and operated at 25 mph or less must display the slow-moving vehicle emblem, a red-bordered fluorescent orange triangle mounted on the rear (Vehicle Code § 24615).
• Keep right. A vehicle slower than normal traffic must use the right lane or stay close to the right edge, except to pass or turn left (Vehicle Code § 21654).
• Turnouts. On a two-lane road where passing is unsafe, a slow vehicle with five or more vehicles lined up behind it must pull off at the nearest turnout or safe area (Vehicle Code § 21656).
• Not too slow. No one may drive so slowly as to block the normal movement of traffic unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation (Vehicle Code § 22400).

What the DMV tells other drivers

• Some slow-moving vehicles carry an orange and red triangle on the back and usually travel at 25 mph or less. [source]
• Slow-moving vehicles can take longer to get up to speed when entering traffic, and large trucks and some cars lose speed on long or steep hills. [source]
• Horse-drawn vehicles and riders on horseback may share the road; it is against the law to intentionally scare horses or livestock. [source]

How these crashes happen and who is at fault

Typical crashes are a fast car closing on a tractor over a rise or around a curve, a driver passing a slow vehicle as it turns left into a field, and wide equipment crowding the oncoming lane. Fault is shared by percentage (CACI No. 405). The overtaking driver must keep a safe speed and distance (Vehicle Code § 22350; Vehicle Code § 21703). The equipment operator can be at fault for a missing emblem, no lights, failing to use turnouts or turning without signaling.

If the equipment belonged to a farm business, that business and its insurer are usually part of the claim. This page is about drivers and passengers hurt in collisions; it does not address injuries to people working on farms.

Evidence

• Photos of the rear of the equipment: emblem, lights, reflectors and any flag
• The road layout: hills, curves, sight distance and any turnouts
• Width of the equipment compared with the lane
• The CHP or Sheriff report (crash report guide)

Every fact on this page links to the official source it came from. We checked each one in September 2026. Agencies change fees and procedures, so confirm with the agency before you go. How we research.