It has been a year since a law requiring flashing electric lights to be installed on Amish buggies.
The law was supposedly enacted on fears of buggy crashes, but some Amish communities have opted not to abide by it and has led at least one Amish scholar to "wonder what really underlies this law.”
Knox County has one of the highest concentrations of Amish families in the nation with around 3,000 community members, which is nearly a one-third increase in community size since 2010.
This means the law has an outsized impact in Knox County.
A study conducted by the Ohio Department of Transportation in 2019 revealed that there were 723 buggy-related crashes in the state between 2009 and 2019, with 350 leading to injuries and 17 resulting in fatalities.
Additionally, committee testimony indicated that 120 buggy crashes occurred in 2020, with 60% of them transpiring during the daytime.
The law requiring the flashing lights has not been embraced by all bishops in Ohio’s Amish country leading to run-ins with police who have ticketed Amish drivers for not adhering to it.
Some communities have sought to claim a religious exemption to not be forced to use the technology.
Drivers who opt not to use the light have been ticketed for non-compliance.
In one body-cam video out of Ashland County, a deputy asks an Amish driver, “Are you guys aware of the new law?” “Yeah, we’ve heard of it,” the driver answers.
However, the driver notes his religious community has not mandated the flashing light.
“What your name sir?” the deputy asked the driver.
“I would put it on, but my bishop’s not allowing me,” the Amish driver says in the video.
In an opinion column published in the Columbus Dispatch, Cory Anderson, a scholar at the Pennsylvania State University and the Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies Association, said the law is completely unproven and was passed under questionable circumstances.
Anderson, who completed a master’s thesis on motor vehicle-buggy crash scenarios, wrote that despite the intention of enhancing safety, concerns arise regarding the effectiveness of the lights in preventing accidents, with critics pointing out their limited impact on addressing common crash scenarios.
“Motorists may also strike buggies due to careless, aggressive passing. Motorists pacing a battery-powered flashing light-equipped buggy, waiting for a safe chance to pass while a bright yellow light is flashing in their eyes, will only become more impatient, increasing the risk of an unsafe pass,” he noted in the opinion piece.
“Battery-powered flashing lights do not address documented causes of rear-end collisions. Simultaneously, they increase crash risk as motorists attempt passes.”
Instead, he said several other factors play into buggy crash scenarios including distracted English drivers.
“We currently know that motorists may not see a buggy due to the sun’s glare, personal intoxication, operation of a cellphone, or a hill or curve blocking the view of the buggy. In all of these common crash scenarios, battery-powered flashing lights are unproven, if not totally ineffective,” Anderson wrote.
In his summation, Anderson said the law feigned Amish support, including a letter purporting to be from the Amish community but including only English community names.
He added that the implementation of the battery-powered flashing lights on Amish buggies prompts debates about potential religious targeting, as members of strict Amish denominations object to these lights on religious grounds.
Additionally, Anderson said the law's development process is under scrutiny for its potential misrepresentation of Amish community support and concerns about its religious neutrality.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly noted Anderson's academic affiliations.
