Delegate Christopher K. Peace (R-Mechanicsville) in collaboration with the Virginia Farm Bureau hosted a farm safety/rural roads seminar for King William County residents on Thursday, October 27.
In his opening remarks Delegate Peace shared his inspiration behind the seminar, “A number of months ago I spoke at Lee-Davis High School and met a young lady named Meagan. She told me a tragic story about her grandfather’s fatal farming related accident. Her sad story really moved me to act. Tonight, with the help of the local media, I hope to reduce the number of farm work-related injuries and deaths by increasing safety and health awareness and promoting safe practices; in addition we want to increase public awareness of the importance of safety and health in agriculture. I told Meagan that our office would do everything we could either legislatively or through public awareness campaigns to try to minimize the amount of accidents that do occur.”
Mr. Bruce Stone, Safety Manger for the Virginia Farm Bureau, shared a presentation which highlighted the need for farmers and motorists to share responsibility for keeping rural roads safe. Stone asserted, “Common sense and roadway courtesy are vital to keeping roads safe for farm equipment and passenger vehicles. With more automobiles traveling rural roads and farm consolidation creating more frequent tractor travel on highways, the potential for collisions involving farm machinery and automobiles is increasing.”
Delegate Peace is hopeful that through action, his office and Farm Bureau’s working together in the 97th District, they can take another step in promoting safety and health in agricultural and rural communities.