North Indiana Sheriff Aims to Reduce Buggy Crashes

The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department is teaming with an Amish group known as the Northern Indiana Safety Association to try to educate people about how to safely operate horse-drawn vehicles on public roads.

The effort comes in the wake of two girls being killed and three of their siblings being injured in Middlebury a year ago when their pony cart collided with an SUV on a rural road.

Sheriff Brad Rogers tells WSBT-TV the manual being distributed by his office tells horse and buggy drivers how to safely use public roads, and also can be used by drivers not familiar with horse and buggy operations. The manual covers topics ranging from courtesy, conduct, buggy lighting, age of operators, driving on the roadway and rules of the road.