First-ever Amish Buggy Alert Signals Installed in Fillmore County

New MnDOT warning system follows two separate fatal vehicle-buggy accidents since 2023

By Mike Dougherty and Julie Fryer, January 12, 2026

Yellow diamond road sign showing a horse-drawn Amish buggy with a small amber light above it that flashes when a buggy is present, standing beside a snowy rural highway with cars passing on the left and leafless trees lining the roadside in winter

Newly installed Amish Buggy Alert sign on Highway 44. (Photo by Mike Dougherty, MnDOT)

Clashes between motorized highway vehicles and Amish buggies are a recurring issue in Southeast Minnesota.

In February 2023, Root River Current Co-publisher John Torgrimson shared his up close, personal experience with a deadly Amish buggy vehicle crash which occurred in front of his rural Fillmore County home (read his story: A Slow Moving Vehicle).

At sentencing in March of 2023, the driver involved in this crash, Joseph Perry, was found guilty of 5th-degree drug possession (marijuana in a non-small amount) and driving after suspension. The remaining charges were dismissed.

Perry was sentenced to 365 days in jail, with 335 days stayed for two years (if he met his terms of probation). Perry served 30 days in jail. On September 29, 2025, he was discharged from probation or monitoring by the court.

This and other similar incidents have led to the implementation of a new alert system designed to improve safety on our highways.

FILLMORE COUNTY—Drivers traveling along Highway 44 between Mabel and Canton are now witnessing a new warning system that increases awareness of slow-moving Amish buggies.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has installed flashing driver alert signs on this stretch of road where guardrails narrow the shoulders, often forcing buggies and vehicles to share a single lane.

Green highway distance sign listing Mabel 5 miles, Caledonia 22 miles and Hokah 36 miles beside a snow-covered rural road and open winter farm fields, with a yellow Amish buggy warning sign visible farther down the highway

Just beyond the mileage sign along this popular Fillmore County Amish byway is an alert sign signaling when slow-move buggies are ahead. (Photo by Mike Dougherty, MnDOT)

The signs are designed to alert motorized vehicles of the presence of a buggy and improve safety for everyone using the roadway.

The system is similar to the warning systems used in MnDOT’s Rural Intersection Conflict Warning Systems.

MnDOT’s first-ever area Amish Buggy Alert System is near the Highway 52 Amish Buggy Byway in southern Fillmore County. This area is home to the largest Amish community in Minnesota. Fillmore County roads in this area have seen two fatal buggy-vehicle crashes in the past three years.

The above MnDOT video explains how the system works.

The signs in this new area are located on the stretch of Highway 44 east of its junction with Highway 52. One sign in each direction has a flashing beacon which is activated when a buggy is approximately 150 feet from the start of the guard rail.

The sign has an Amish buggy symbol with a flashing beacon mounted on top and a sign below that indicates the warning is in effect when flashing.

Contributors

Mike Dougherty

Mike Dougherty is the Director of Communications and Public Engagement for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, District 6, an 11-county region in southeast Minnesota. Prior to joining MnDOT, he was a reporter and editor at the Post Bulletin newspaper in Rochester.

Julie Fryer

Julie Fryer is a marketing and writing consultant who helps small businesses and nonprofits navigate the digital world. She lives in Chatfield, Minn. and is an avid gardener, sugarmaker and camper with a full bookshelf of to-be-read books. Julie is Root River Current's production manager.