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Safety Rules for Delivery Drivers

Delivery drivers know roads, not your farm. A few clear, written rules keep them, your workers and your animals out of harm's way.

Why do delivery drivers need their own farm rules?

Feed, fuel, seed, parts and propane trucks arrive on unfamiliar ground. Drivers do not know where the soft shoulders are, which gate stays closed, where children play or when a loader is backing up.

Visitors who are not employees also fall outside your normal training. A short, consistent set of rules fills that gap and shows the driver what you expect before anything goes wrong.

Delivery drivers also work under time pressure. A farm that is easy to navigate and easy to understand gets better cooperation, fewer shortcuts and fewer surprises for your own workers who are trying to do their jobs at the same time.

What should the arrival route look like?

Decide in advance where deliveries enter, where they park or unload, and where they turn around. Keep the route away from animal handling areas, play areas, shop doors and busy work zones when you can.

Mark the route with simple signs at the entrance and at key turns. Tell regular suppliers about the route by phone or message so the first thing they see is not a surprise.

• Name one entrance for all deliveries
• Post a sign asking drivers to stop and check in
• Keep gates and lanes clear of parked equipment

Who greets the driver and what do they say?

Assign one person to meet each delivery, even if that person is the owner. The greeter confirms what is being delivered, where it goes and which hazards are nearby.

Keep the conversation short and friendly. A driver who feels welcome asks questions. A driver who is ignored guesses.

Tell the greeter to ask about the load, not just the destination. Heavy or unusual loads, such as bulk feed or fuel, may call for a different unloading spot, and the driver is often the person who knows what the vehicle needs.

How do you control traffic and moving equipment?

Tell workers running tractors, loaders and skid steers when a truck is on site. Agree on a signal, such as a radio call or a visible marker, that means a delivery is in progress.

Drivers should stay in or beside their vehicle unless they have been told where it is safe to walk. Ask them to wait for the greeter before leaving the cab near equipment or animals.

If a driver must walk near equipment or animals, the greeter should walk with them. Keep that rule even for familiar faces, because a regular driver who gets comfortable is the one most likely to cut across a work area.

What about children, pets and animals?

Keep children and pets inside or in a fenced area during deliveries. A large vehicle has blind spots that a driver cannot fix with mirrors alone.

Livestock should be secured away from the unloading area. Tell drivers not to approach or feed animals, and not to open gates.

Fences, gates and clear lanes help more than reminders. If a gate is meant to stay closed, mark it and say so, and make sure the layout does not tempt drivers to cut through animal areas.

What should a written driver rule sheet say?

Keep it to one page. Include the check-in point, the speed expectation you set for the farm, where to park, where not to walk and who to call if something looks wrong. Pictures or a simple map help drivers who read quickly or in a second language.

Avoid long lists of prohibitions. Drivers follow a few clear rules better than twenty buried in fine print. Place the sheet in a weatherproof holder at the entrance and give a copy to regular suppliers.

• Where to check in
• Where to park and unload
• Areas that are off limits
• Phone number for the farm

How do you make the rules stick?

Put the rules on one page, in plain words, and share it with regular suppliers once a year. Add the same page to new worker orientation so everyone enforces it.

After any near miss, such as a truck blocking a lane or a driver walking into a work zone, change the rule or the signage the same week. Your state or county may have specific requirements for employers and visitors, so check with the U.S. Department of Labor or OSHA and your state workplace safety agency.

• Review the page after each season
• Keep a phone number posted for drivers to call
• Ask suppliers for feedback on how the farm is laid out

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Safety Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.