Here’s some math that may take you back to algebra class: If you’ve driving at 60 mph and slow to 20 mph for 2 miles, how much time will that add to your trip?

The answer: 6 minutes, or about the same amount of time you’d spend waiting through the cycle at two stop lights.

The lesson: Be patient when you’re driving, and you come upon someone moving a piece of farm equipment on a rural road. Chances are, you’ll only have to slow down for a mile or two. And chances are, if you take a chance and try to pass when it’s not safe, you could wreck.

David Fink of Heidel Hollow Farm in Slatington said that 95 percent of motorists are courteous. Since 1852, generations of his family have operated the 1,600-acre farm.

“What it amounts to is that people need to share the road,” Fink said. “They need to be aware that farm vehicles are slow and they need to be very cautious going around them.”

“Some farm vehicles are 17 feet wide,” he added. “If people try to go around them they may wind up on the shoulder of the road on the opposite side, and can then lose control of their vehicle, or they can cause problems for oncoming motorists.”

Statewide, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation data, in 2016 there were 89 crashes involving farm equipment moving on rural roads, which caused 72 injuries and one fatality. During that same year, tabulating all motor vehicle accidents on rural roads, there were 53,883 crashes in Pennsylvania, with 31,750 injuries and 758 fatalities.

This past spring, Penn­DOT, The Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau teamed to launch Rural Roads Safety Week, April 16-22, to coincide with the planting season. Mark O’Neill, PFB Media and Strategic Communications Director, said that throughout the state, the number of farm vehicles traveling rural roads increases during planting and harvesting seasons.

The PFB, headquartered in Camp Hill, provides legislative support, information and services to farmers; there are 54 county farm bureaus serving 66 counties.

“During the planting and harvesting seasons, timing is everything,” O’Neill said. “Both seasons are equally important, and can make or break a farmer. When the crops are ready to be harvested there will be an increase in farm vehicles on the rural roads, throughout the state.”

“Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s getting dark earlier and earlier each day,” he added. “Be especially careful at dawn or dusk and make sure you have your lights on.”

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau created a list of tips for motorists who encounter farm vehicles on rural roads:

• State law applies. You can’t pass in a no passing zone, or within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad crossing, bridge or tunnel.

• If a farm vehicle is approaching you from the opposite direction, and it’s wide, slow down and yield to the side of the road if possible.

• If you do decide to pass, beep your horn. Farm equipment is loud and its driver is probably watching the road ahead.

• Be patient.

• Farmers are legally allowed to operate farm equipment on Pennsylvania roads. They must display the SMV (Slow Moving Vehicle) emblem. The SMV emblem is an orange triangle with a red border. It must be displayed on the rear of a farm vehicle which travels at 25 mph or slower.

“If you’re on a rural road, traveling at the posted speed limit, you still may come upon a slow-moving farm vehicle very quickly,” O’Neill said. “Be prepared to slow down.”

Did you know?

• Pennsylvania is a worldwide leader in agricultural, food and lumber production.

• Our state is known as the Snack Food Capital of the World, with our major producers of pretzels, potato chips, confectioneries, and chocolate, generating more than $6 billion in annual sales.

• Pennsylvania has more than 2,300 food-processing companies.

• Pennsylvania leads the United States in mushroom production, with an annual production of more than 425 million pounds, valuing more than $330.7 million per year.

• Pennsylvania leads the United States in the production of export-grade hardwood, such as black cherry, red maple, red oak and sugar maple.

• The dairy industry in Pennsylvania produces in three main categories: ice cream and frozen desserts, butter and cheese, and fluid milk products.

• Pennsylvania’s meat, poultry and fish products generate more than $4.3 billion in sales annually; additionally, our cattle serve as prime breeding stock for several countries.

Statistics and information from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture