Driving through rural areas like Northwest Iowa this time of year brings a hidden danger: tall cornfields at intersections create dangerous blind spots. Those “walls of corn” make it impossible to see oncoming traffic, leading to an increase in accidents and near-misses.
One might not realize that there are nearly 20,000 intersections on Iowa roadways that do not have any stop or yield signs. These are what you call “uncontrolled” intersections, and they are governed by the “Right-of-Way-Rule.” This rule simply states that vehicles approaching the intersection must yield to vehicles already in the intersection.
So, to simply put it—
STOP at the corners... Even if you do not have a stop sign.
STOP at the corners... Even if you know the other direction has a stop sign.
STOP at the corners... It should not matter if you are walking, riding a bike, driving an ATV, driving a vehicle or any piece of farm equipment.
STOP at the corners... The corn is tall and it blocks all visibility at intersections. Watching dust flying up during the day or headlights when it is dark just is not enough.
STOP at the corners... you can never trust that whoever might be driving from the other direction will stop.
STOP at the corners... This time of year the kids are heading back to school, our rural kids are traveling on those roads along with the farmers who are going to start harvesting soon and that adds trucks and large farm equipment to those roads and dangerous intersections.
Life is precious and being in a hurry just is not worth it... take the extra time and always
STOP at the corners.
Karla Prunty, Outreach Coordinator, Cherokee Farm Bureau Federation
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