Amish Men Not Backing Down in Kentucky Fight Over Buggy Safety

By | January 13, 2012

  • January 13, 2012 at 1:47 pm
    Zen Badagi says:
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    How much plainer can the sign get,

    Note those wooden wheels look pretty fancy to me.

  • January 13, 2012 at 2:00 pm
    What's Up? says:
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    Kentucky must have something in their drinking water. If reflective tape is just as “noticeable” to a car with headligthts as the orange triangle then why on God’s earth would you not let them select that option?

  • January 13, 2012 at 2:20 pm
    LadyLisa says:
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    The wooden wheels are functional not fancy. To the Amish a bright orange and red sign is not plain. I hope there can be compromise
    as these men do not deserve to go to jail over this. Would a white stripe of refective material help?

  • January 13, 2012 at 2:21 pm
    bob says:
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    Why are policeman stopping them anyway. These types of violations carry their own punishment. Leave em be, let the officers chase the deer off the highway – bet there are more collisions with deer than with the Amish.

  • January 13, 2012 at 3:28 pm
    LadyLisa says:
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    The wooden wheels are functional, not fancy. The Amish do not consider an orange and red sign plain. I would hope a compromise could be reached as these men do not belong in jail. Can plain colored reflective tape be used? Something white or gray? There has to be an acceptable alternative.

  • January 13, 2012 at 3:30 pm
    me says:
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    So….why don’t the Amish consider the paved roads a modern convenience and thus not use them? Seems to me it would rank right up there with electricity. I can see both sides of the argument and it seems the grey reflective tape would be a reasonable compromise.

    • January 16, 2012 at 2:46 pm
      Kev1n says:
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      I’ve spent a lot of time in Lancaster County, PA (another Amish hotbed) and the reason the Amish use paved roads is that they have to. It’s really not a fair comparison. The state has paved most of the dirt roads that the Amish created in their communities as Amish and “Englishers” (us) now live in the same communities. Even if the Amish decided to use some of their precious farmland as a path to travel, they would still have to cross paved roads, and who is to say that they wouldn’t eventually be paved also?

  • January 13, 2012 at 3:39 pm
    Susan says:
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    This is not like a mandatory seat belt law (which I am against — because why does the state of FL care if *I* wear a seatbelt, I would only be injuring myself)

    BUT, if these buggies share the roadway with cars, and cars can’t see them, and crash into them, then they are not just putting themselves in jeopardy (which I don’t care about that), but the people in the cars could be seriously injured or killed.

    • January 16, 2012 at 1:26 pm
      SWFL Agent says:
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      “I would only be injuring myself”. Really. When you’re thrown from your vehicle I don’t want the inconvenience of running over you. Or maybe your family doesn’t want to change your diaper when you’re incapacitated. Someone out there must care about you Susan?

  • January 13, 2012 at 4:20 pm
    sips says:
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    “If we go ahead and put it on, the other groups of the Amish in other states, they would shun us,” said Joe Stutzman, another man who has been jailed.

    Sounds like these guys are more afraid of being shunned for having a triangle than they are worried about getting rear-ended by a Peterbilt doing 55 on a backroad. Must not be the brightest bulbs in the pack. Oops, sorry, they don’t use lightbulbs!

  • January 13, 2012 at 4:42 pm
    Wildcat says:
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    The irony is that in this world, living a simple and pious life does stand out as garish.

  • January 13, 2012 at 5:28 pm
    Just maybe says:
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    They should be required to stay on the unpaved shoulder out of traffice & be ticketed/fined if they do stray on to the paved part of the road. If they get hit on the paved section, they would not be able to collect any damages.

    • February 10, 2012 at 2:09 pm
      Horse Insurance Agent says:
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      I think you are forgetting that in the country the “unpaved shoulder” is called a ditch. Most country roads in KY are narrow, even the paved ones. Hardly enough room to put two cars and a buggy between the ditch banks.

  • January 14, 2012 at 12:41 am
    Martha says:
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    I’ve driven amongst Amish buggies in WI, OH, MI, IN, PA, IL, IA, KY & MN, at all hours. It is so much easier to see a buggy with the reflective tape on it rather than a SMV orange triangle.

  • January 16, 2012 at 11:54 am
    steph says:
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    I have to agree with ME- Why are they using the roadways? The law is the law- it should be changed because a relgious belief. Changing the law will open up a bigger can of worms. If they can’t abide by the law they shouldn’t be able to use the road.

  • January 16, 2012 at 4:23 pm
    Think About it... says:
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    If the amish shouldn’t need any type of reflectors or signs to drive down the road then why are cars ticketed for headlights and tail lights burned out…maybe they should be optional for everyone else on the road as well.



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