On Sunday, July 14, at around 6 p.m., a 2006 Ford F250 crashed into the rear of an Amish horse-drawn carriage in Cumberland County, Virginia, killing an eight-year-old girl who was riding inside.
Just over an hour later, a black 2020 Ford Escape crashed into the back of an Amish buggy in Lowville, New York, killing a 17-year-old boy.
The two tragic accidents come amid a devastating surge in fatal crashes involving Amish vehicles, whose slow speeds and poor visibility are wreaking havoc on the roads.
Yet some stubborn Anabaptist communities refuse to comply with new laws designed to improve public safety, even as their own children are being killed as a result.
Ardent traditionalists say they will not install electric lights on their cars because it conflicts with their religious beliefs, sparking anger among local residents.
In recent years there has been a devastating increase in fatal accidents involving Amish vehicles.
On Sunday, July 14, a black 2020 Ford Escape crashed into the back of an Amish buggy in Lowville, New York (above), killing a 17-year-old boy.
The slow speed and poor visibility of horse-drawn Amish carriages are causing chaos on the road.
One sect in Ohio has even said they would rather be jailed than compromise their principles.
The confrontation has divided opinion, with some defending the Amish and pointing the finger at careless motorists.
In fact, preliminary investigations into last month’s accidents seem to suggest that the Amish were not to blame.
But there is growing evidence that horse-drawn carriages are involved in an alarming number of road accidents.
In Virginia, there were 24 collisions involving horses and carriages between 2016 and 2022, resulting in four deaths and at least 65 injuries, according to the Virginia Mercury.
A 2019 study by the Ohio Department of Transportation found that there were 723 car-related crashes in the state between 2009 and 2019, of which 350 resulted in injuries and 17 resulted in deaths.
There were 100 accidents involving buggies in 2023 alone, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the number for 2024 is on track to surpass that number.
In an attempt to address the problem, the state passed a law in 2022 to require Amish carriages and other animal-drawn vehicles to display a flashing yellow light while traveling on public roads.
The bill was supported by more progressive members of the Amish community.
“Some of my friends have died and many have been injured, including me and my parents,” said one statement of support.
“It’s not that, the English (the Amish term for non-Amish) have to live with that feeling of having hit someone. I’m very sorry. Most of this could have been avoided, including my accident, with one simple measure: a strobe light.”
However, the ultra-conservative Amish Swartzentruber of Ashland County have resisted the change.
Shortly after the law was passed, dashcam footage obtained by FOX 8 showed two Amish men being pulled over by a deputy for not complying with the law.
Asked if they were aware of the obligation to wear flashing lights, one of the men told the MP: “We have heard about it. I would wear them, but my bishop won’t allow me to.”
Lt. Brad Bishop said at the time that elders and bishops were resentful of the new law, arguing that using electric lights “was not what their ancestors did.”
Most Amish buggies are already equipped with reflective panels to improve visibility.
But stricter sects, which reject modern conveniences including electricity, have refused to comply with new laws requiring horse-drawn carriages to be fitted with flashing yellow lights.
In January 2023, dozens of Swartzentrubers drivers were fined up to $150 each for breaking the law. The magistrate who imposed the fines tried to make them understand the seriousness of the matter, stressing that the law was in place “for their safety and that of their family, as well as for the safety of drivers.”
However, one by one they refused to pay, citing religious reasons. They said their traditions required them to keep their cars “plain and simple” and that a flashing yellow light was too “mundane.”
Several indicated that they would rather go to jail than pay.
The matter went to a municipal judge, who ruled that an Ohio Supreme Court case prohibits him from jailing defendants who refuse to pay fines for non-jail-related offenses.
But he, instead, tried to reason with them.
“Are you going to pay your fines?” Judge John Good asked one of the Amish members, Ashland Source reported.
“No, not at this time,” was the answer.
“Are you ever going to pay them?” Good asked.
‘Not that I know.’
“Would you be able to pay them back if you had the income or the funds?” Good continued.
-Yes, but I can’t pay them for religious reasons.
Other exchanges followed a similar pattern. Exasperated, Good asked the defendants what he should do.
Most said they didn’t know, but one defendant, William Zook, had a suggestion to make.
“Pray,” he said.
“That’s the best advice I’ve had all day, Mr. Zook,” Good replied.
An Ashland County, Ohio, judge has placed liens on the property of dozens of Amish people who have refused to install lights on their cars and pay fines for violations.
Most Amish have complied with the rules, with one more progressive member telling DailyMail.com that others’ refusal to obey the law has caused tensions with locals.
Others have come to their defence, arguing that they have been targeted for their religious beliefs.
Throughout the hearing, the judge expressed his displeasure at having to punish the Amish for adhering to their religious beliefs.
But in February, he dismissed challenges from some Swartzentrubers who claimed the bug law was unconstitutional, concluding that it was justified in the name of public safety.
“I’ve tried to be patient, but now I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve backed the court up against a wall and I have to decide whether I’m going to let this go or do everything in my power to affect fines and costs like I would in any other case involving any other citizen of Ashland County,” Good said.
He placed liens on their properties that would accrue interest until they were paid.
Not that much has changed.
The Swartzentrubers have not shown much willingness to pay. Sergeant Bridget Matt of the Ohio State Highway Patrol told DailyMail.com that nothing had changed in practice, as traditionalists continue to refuse to install lights on their cars.
But it’s not just Ashland County that has problems.
In Charlotte County, Virginia, Amish elders have warned that younger members have refused to follow their instructions to install lights on strollers because “they think they are invincible,” the Farmville Herald reported.
Wayne Wengers, an Amish man from Wayne County, Ohio, who represents his community on a state steering committee on public safety, said about 90 percent of the Amish already used lights before the state made it mandatory.
He told DailyMail.com that only a minority were standing their ground, but admitted this had “caused tension” with locals.
Erik Wesner, who runs the blog AmishAmerica.com, noted that many Amish car accidents, including those last weekend in Virginia and New York, occur in more progressive communities where lights have been installed on cars.
This suggests that the fixation on the issue is misdirected, he added.
Others have gone further, even suggesting a conspiracy against the Amish.
In an op-ed published in the Columbus Dispatch last year, Cory Anderson, a scholar at Pennsylvania State University and the Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies Association, said the headlight law is completely untested and was passed under questionable circumstances.
Anderson, who completed a master’s thesis on motor vehicle-car accident scenarios, said the law feigned support for the Amish, including a letter that purported to be from the Amish community but only included names of non-Amish people.
He added that the implementation of battery-powered flashing lights on Amish cars raises debates about possible religious attacks, as members of strict Amish denominations oppose these lights on religious grounds.
When contacted by DailyMail.com, he issued a cryptic response.
“I probably know more than anyone else about what’s going on and I have to be cautious with what I know,” he said. “Right now, the situation is quite delicate.”
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