The Amish buggy with flashing lights may not have been center stage during Amish Safety Day July 29, but it received plenty of recognition from various Geauga County leaders during the event.
The Amish buggy with flashing lights may not have been center stage during Amish Safety Day July 29, but it received plenty of recognition from various Geauga County leaders during the event.
Donated by the Amish Safety Committee, the aged buggy displayed the newest of safety features, a yellow flashing light at the top of the back of the horse-drawn vehicle. Brake lights and turn signals have been standard equipment for the black buggies for some time, but the top light gives better visibility along the uneven roads of Geauga County.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Geauga County office funded the lights on the display buggy, said Bob Rogish, vice president of the local organization.
“Our main goal includes safety on the roads for Amish,” he said, standing by the buggy as it flashed in the corner. “It’s going to debut at the (Great) Geauga County Fair.”
Middlefield Fire Department Capt. Ben Reed said the flashing light is new this year.
“Some Amish areas resist lights on their buggies. The Middlefield Amish are good about it,” he said.
Amish Safety Day is organized annually for the Middlefield Amish community with more and more organizations setting up booths every year, said Mandy Orahood, organizing director for the OFB in four counties.
The event was well attended with Amish families collecting packets of safety materials and information, then briefly vacating the huge Heritage Market Place structure on Nauvoo Road to view the Medivac helicopter when it landed in the lot west of the building.
Reed said the reason for the helicopter display is so youth aren’t afraid of it if they are involved in a traffic accident and the medical aircraft has to be called.
Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak also presented a check for $22,000 from the Rotary Club of Burton-Middlefield to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office to fund Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs in Amish schools.
Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, who had been handing out packets to Amish children during the afternoon, accepted the check.
The donation would be used to cover the cost of materials and manpower to continue the DARE program in the Amish community, he said, adding the RCBM made a similar donation last year to support the program.
“I have to believe it has helped,” Hildenbrand said, pointing out the Amish scooter behind him that has flashing lights, front and rear, and urging young people using them to go the same direction as motorized traffic.
About $20,000 of the donation was raised during the Rotary’s second Jeep Invasion, Dvorak said. Jeep owners gathered in October at the Mayfield Drive-in Theater and, with Hildenbrand leading the way, toured around the county.
Dvorak said Judge Mary Jane Trapp, of the Court of Appeals of the Ohio Eleventh Appellate District, contributed to the fundraiser and commended Amish Safety Chair Noah Wengerd and the first-responders and organizations for holding another Amish Safety Day.
“The Burton-Middlefield Rotary is also commended on its successful efforts to raise $22,000 for the DARE program, which educates young people about the dangers of drug use and gives them tools to resist peer pressure,” she wrote. “These community partnerships are what make Geauga County a great place to live and work.”
Also speaking about Amish buggy safety was Brian Blayney, transportation planning engineer for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT will be installing buggy warning systems in areas with poor sight distance, he said.
Triggered by radar, the Amish buggy detection warning systems can tell the difference between a motorized vehicle and a buggy, he said, adding it includes a stationery light on a pole to illuminate the back of a buggy in hilly terrain as it moves downhill so it is visible to a faster vehicle coming over the crest of the hill.
“The light will flash for 40 to 50 seconds to give better visibility of the buggy as it’s moving down the hill,” Blayney said.
According to www.transportation.ohio.gov/, the cost of the lights is about $20,000 per location.
Hildenbrand spoke to the crowd about the new state law prohibiting use of a cell phone while driving and how important it is to pedestrians and slow-moving traffic.
“We’ve all seen horrific accidents with buggies and vehicles,” he said. “I’d love to see you all wearing reflective items. Be extra vigilant.”
Reed spoke about the difficulties of fighting a fire on properties far from the paved road. He urged families with extra-long driveways to let the fire department know because the typical hose is only 1,000 feet long.
“We’d like to know the location of all driveways that are really long,” Reed said.
All driveways should be at least 10 feet wide so emergency vehicles can navigate to the home without getting stuck, he added.
Reed urged homeowners to have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor and in every bedroom, and to make sure all flammable containers are clearly marked, so white gasoline and kerosene don’t get mixed up.
