Following farm equipment may slow you down for a few minutes, but a collision would slow you down even more or could even be deadly.

McLean County Farm Bureau takes that message on the road to local high schools through a program called Rural Route Safety Days.

The program earned national recognition as a 2023 ‘County Activity of Excellence’ from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Rural Route Safety Days provides a hands-on learning experience for students to gain a better perspective on how to share the road safely by bringing farm equipment to the school.

Students rotate through three stations where local farmers and volunteers share safety tips and precautions for meeting, passing and following farm equipment.

Rural Routes Safety programs have been offered at El Paso-Gridley, Heyworth, Lexington and Tri-Valley high schools in the past.

McLean County Farm Bureau created the program to help raise awareness about rural road safety for young drivers.

The County Award of Excellence recognizes up to 24 of the top county Farm Bureau activities in the nation.

As a winner, McLean County Farm Bureau showcased the Rural Route Safety Day program at the trade show during the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in January. To learn more about the program and see photos from the events, visit mcfb.org/safetydays