by
Brittany Wise
Grayson County News Gazette
Apr 15, 2012 | 21824 views | 0
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Photo/Rebecca Morris
A local Amish man ties his horses to a lightpost outside of Walmart after making the long trek on county roadways in his buggy. Area Amish no longer have to fear fines or jail time for refusing to place slow-moving vehicle symbols on the backs of such buggies following the signing of SB 75 by Governor Beshear on Wednesday.
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Kentucky’s Amish population will be sending out a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanks now that Senate Bill 75 has been signed into effect.
Governor Steve Beshear signed the bill into effect on Wednesday, April, 11.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray,will now make it legal for the religious group to use reflective tape on their buggies to make them visible to others on Kentucky’s roadways instead of using the previously required fluorescent orange, triangular slow-moving vehicle symbol.
The bill passed in the Senate with a 75-21 vote. A very similar House Bill had also been presented by Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow.
“I think we were able to fashion a solution that helped folks with their religious issues but at the same time still maintained the standard of safety that we have to have on our highways,” Beshear said.
Strict Amish sects, such as the Schwartzentrubers, have been refusing to use the slow-moving triangles because they feel that the color and shape are both in conflict with their religious beliefs. Due to this refusal, Kentucky law enforcement officers previously had no choice but to place fines on anyone seen driving a buggy without the sign.
A number of Western Kentucky Amish men have been fined, including some in Grayson County, and some have even
served jail time over the matter after refusing to pay the fines, which they see as an admittance of wrong-doing.
With the new bill signed into effect, however, we will be seeing some changes both on the roadways and in the courthouse.
Amish may make visible their buggies with either white or silver reflective tape and remain within the state’s legal guidelines, effectively ending the fear of serving time in jail for following their closely-held views of modesty and religious conduct.
The bill was not unanimously support, however, as some legislators worried that the tape would not be an effective means of making such slow-moving vehicles visible.
Fatal accidents involving Amish buggies and wagons are not unheard of on Kentucky’s roadways, and these legislators want to ensure that no additional incidents occur, like the Cub Run accident in November which killed an 18-year-old Amish man or the incident involving a buggy and a tractor-trailer last year near Hopkinsville which killed an Amish child and injured three others involved.
Governor Beshear says, however, that after having spoken with the Transportation Cabinet regarding these concerns, he is assured that the tape will prove as effective a means as any to make drivers aware of the buggies.
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