MAYFIELD, Ky. - On Jacob Gingerich’s farm in western Kentucky, there is no phone or electricity for his family of 12 children. He even sees putting an orange safety triangle on their black horse-drawn buggy as a violation of the simple life his Amish faith requires.
He and other Amish men in rural Graves County have become scofflaws for not using the reflective signs, ignoring state law, disobeying orders from a judge, and even going to jail for not paying fines.
To Gingerich and others in the conservative Amish community known as Swartzentruber, using the bright reflective symbol amounts to blasphemy. They consider it garish and believe they should rely on God, not symbols, for protection.
“We try to lead a simple, plain life,’’ Gingerich said. “Putting that orange triangle on the back of our buggy would not leave our buggies plain anymore.’’
He and seven other Amish men were sent to jail in September for a few days for refusing to pay fines for vehicle sign violations. A ninth Amish man avoided jail when a local resident paid his fine. At least two other Kentucky counties, Grayson and Logan, have summoned men into court for driving unmarked buggies. A court date today could land more in jail.
A group of Swartzentruber Amish who recently met with an Associated Press reporter at Gingerich’s farm fear they would be treated as outcasts by other Swartzentruber communities around the country if they use the safety triangles.
Many Amish use the triangles with little objection, but Swartzentruber is a breakaway order that follows even stricter rules on modesty, humility, and behavior than other Amish.
The issue over triangles has come up before in other states. Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania have allowed exemptions from the orange triangles, and courts in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan have sided with the religious freedom argument.
But Kentucky authorities say the triangle is still the law.
“We feel that the reflective triangle is the best way, at least right now, to be able to see those slow-moving objects on the road,’’ said Dean Patterson, a State Police spokesman.
Collisions of motor vehicles with Amish buggies are often fatal. In November, a teenager using a harness-type horse carriage was killed in central Kentucky when he was struck from behind by an SUV. The buggy did not have a reflective triangle.