Following numerous serious car-buggy crashes in his state, a Virginia sheriff is proposing that a new light system – triggered by passing Amish buggies – could warn drivers of horse-drawn travelers on the roads ahead of them.
Similarly to how flashing lights draw attention to upcoming stop signs on secondary highways, a flashing light system could tell drivers to expect to see horse-drawn vehicles just ahead.
Cumberland County, Virginia Sheriff Darrell Hodges explains in the Farmville Herald:
Hodges is promoting a new idea that would use technology similar to electronic toll systems to alert drivers when a buggy is nearby.
“Basically, the idea is very similar to your E-ZPass on your vehicle,” Hodges said.
“It would be placed on an Amish buggy, and when it goes by the sign, it activates. Then the lights would start flashing right then, and it would have a sign underneath that says something like, ‘buggy within the next 2 miles.’”
The system would keep the flashing lights active for about 15 minutes — long enough for a horse and buggy, typically traveling around eight miles per hour, to move safely down the road.
Hodges said the goal is to capture drivers’ attention before they come around a blind curve or over a hill where a buggy may be moving slowly ahead.
I have not personally encountered this system and do not know if they are in use anywhere for this purpose. It certainly seems simple enough. And I think he has a point when it comes to getting drivers’ attention:
“We see hundreds of signs every day as we’re driving down the highway,” he said.
“But when one is flashing, it draws our attention to it with those flashing yellow hazard lights. It makes us pay attention. So that’s what the hope is — that people will be more alert.”
This solution would of course require local Amish to buy in and carry the electronic triggers on their buggies.
As something that would – I assume – but affixed within the buggy and be rather inconspicuous, I would think that most if not all Amish would accept something like that (though, I’m not 100% sure on that – you can’t always be sure with the plainest Amish groups).
Leaving that part aside, there is another perhaps less-obvious challenge:
While the idea sounds simple, implementing it could take cooperation from lawmakers, transportation officials and the insurance industry.
While sensors such as those used with E-ZPass are not that expensive, the cost of the roadside technology to make the lights flash is the more expensive part.
“We have talked with some of the folks with the insurance companies who said that their group might be willing to help cover some of the cost to help offset it,” he said.
The Amish population in Virginia has grown at a good clip over the past decade. The total number of Amish – over 2,000 – is still relatively small, but they are spread across 16 different settlements. The state also has a horse-and-buggy Mennonite population.
The issue of buggy safety has gotten a lot of attention from both media and government in Virginia, and hopefully it produces some solutions which will improve safety for the state’s horse-drawn vehicle users.
I like the thinking behind what the sheriff is promoting here and assuming it brings the desired effect, I hope it succeeds. it’s also worth mentioning the sheriff has a personal stake in this as well:
Hodges unfortunately has first-hand experience with series crashes involving the Amish community.
Just last week, there was a collision that involved an Amish horse.
He also has seen major crashes in the county — one involved a buggy with nine people in it and another with seven.
Hodges paused for a moment, recalling one of the scenes he responded to. “I picked up the last dead child on the side of the road I ever want to,” Hodges said. “And if we can do something to prevent that, that’s what I’m after.”