FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — In an effort to increase safety for both members of the Amish community and motorists who might encounter their horse drawn buggies on the road at night, Rep. David McCrea of Fort Fairfield has advocated for a bill to require reflective tape and lights on the rigs.
An Amish youth and his horse escaped injury in November 2013 in a hit and run accident that destroyed his buggy. State Rep. David McCrea of Fort Fairfield has been advocating for legislation that would require Amish buggies to display reflective tape and use an oil lamp on their buggies in hopes of reducing such accidents. (Photo courtesy of Maine State Police).
The area around Fort Fairfield and Easton has been home to dozens of Amish families for over a decade, with many establishing businesses such as carpentry shops, farms and bakeries. In recent months, McCrea, who represents Maine House District 148 which includes both communities in Aroostook County, has met with dozens of members of the local Amish communities as well as officials from the Maine State Police and Maine Department of Transportation to draft and amend a bill that he said aims to help non-Amish residents notice buggies more quickly while driving.
L.D. 198, “An Act to Require That Non-motorized Carriages Be Equipped with Reflectors and Lights,” proposes that any “animal-driven vehicles” include 72 inches of white reflective tape on the rear, 42 inches on the left and right sides and at least 12 inches near the top on both sides. If passed, the law would require Amish buggies to also have an oil lantern extending from the left side of their buggy facing the road. All those requirements would only be in place during night hours.
In 2017, McCrea worked with the Amish to draft and propose a bill that allowed them to wear red instead of the blaze orange colors that state law requires during hunting season. The religious beliefs of some Amish sects prohibit their wearing “flashy” or “worldly” colors like blaze orange. McCrea succeeded and the 128th Legislature passed L.D. 426.
The lawmaker said that some Amish groups, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, have more “liberal” beliefs that allow their members to display a reflective orange triangle on the back of their buggies at night. But those who live in Aroostook County are part of the Schwartzentrouber Amish subgroup, whose religious values are considered the most conservative among the Amish.
Thus, McCrea met with Amish representatives in Fort Fairfield, Easton, Sherman and Whitefield, which is located southwest of Augusta, to get their input on what a bill related to buggy safety might require. Though an initial version of L.D. 198 proposed orange reflective tape shaped like a triangle on the back of buggies, Amish leaders objected to the suggestion due to their avoidance of bright colors.
Their belief is based on the concept of not wanting to draw attention to themselves, also a reason why they prefer not to be photographed unless in a way that does not clearly identify them, McCrea said.
A retired teacher who lives near some of the first Amish families to settle in Fort Fairfield, the lawmaker knows first hand area residents also have been concerned about traffic safety at night since the Amish first arrived. Many people, he said, have told him about coming close to hitting buggies.
It is not clear how many accidents involving Amish buggies and vehicles occur in Maine each year. But just in January, a tractor-trailer struck and killed a horse hauling a buggy with seven children in it as it pulled out of a driveway onto U.S. Route 2 in Smyrna. Two of the children suffered minor injuries, according to police.
In July 2015, a horse carrying a buggy on Route 10 near the border of Easton and Presque Isle was euthanized after it was rear-ended by an SUV, whose driver was distracted and didn’t see the buggy, according to police. An Amish mother and daughter were treated at The Aroostook Medical Center and released that night.
In November 2013, a vehicle rear ended a horse-drawn buggy on Route 1A in Easton, in what police later determined was a hit and run. In that case, both the teen-aged Amish driver and horse escaped injury, but the buggy was damaged.
At this point McCrea feels confident that the 129th Legislature will pass L.D. 198. Nine state legislators signed McCrea’s bill as co-sponsors, including Sen. Mike Carpenter, D-Houlton, and Rep. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle.
McCrea expected that a unanimous “ought to pass” vote from members of the Transportation Committee would garner the approval of both the House and Senate as well as the governor’s signature.
“When a committee of 13 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents unanimously support a bill it is unlikely that the House, Senate and governor won’t accept it,” said McCrea, who is a Democrat.
Though many Amish community members have voluntarily begun using white reflective tape and oil lanterns while riding buggies at night, McCrea said that having an official law to require the practice has become more important than ever. The reflective tape and lights will alert motorists to the presence of Amish buggies on the roads and give local police official guidelines if an incident occurs.
“This law would set a minimum standard for buggies and allow officers to arrest those who do not follow that law,” McCrea said. “But I don’t expect any arrests to happen. Overall the Amish community is in support of this bill.”
