Road safety my a*se.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:05pm #1

Are tractor drivers totally exempt from following any of the ROTR?

I went for a spin today to Roscrea and I got stuck behind a tractor on the N7 just after Mountrath.

Nothing too unusual about that, this tractor however (as well as the driver) had so many kids in the cab it looked like the last train to Calcutta.

A few of the kids were stood/sat next to the driver but 3 of the kids were hanging out the door/hatch sitting on the back suspension & wheel arches hanging on for dear life whilst this thing bounced its way down the road like a spacehopper.

I kept my distance because I didn't want to make a mess of my bonnet if any of these kids fell off the back.

A few miles outside Mountrath the traffic comes to a stop at a Traffic Corps check point (the usual tax, insurance etc).

I watched with interest to see what the garda would say/do to the tractor driver.

Can anyone guess what happened next?

.

Gran Hermano · 11-08-2009 5:08pm

Are you sure RTE weren't filming one of their new shows, you know the one where the gardai let most people off?

Cookie_Monster · 11-08-2009 5:09pm

"Ah howya there Jim, I seee you're out with the kids then"
"Aye"
"Well have a nice day so"

Close

drunkmonkey · 11-08-2009 5:09pm

He probably said...howaya....your getting very close to the texas of ireland down there, different rules apply.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:10pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

"Ah howya there Jim, I seee you're out with the kids then"
"Aye"
"Well have a nice day so"

Close

We have a winner!!!!

What a joke :mad:

11-08-2009 5:11pm

Aahh bouncing along on the mudguard/standing up at the door(but with the door taken off) of a tractor and standing on the drawbar or on top of a load of bales on a trailer. Reminds me of my summers as a child and I'm still alive.

I bet they were much more secure than the looked.

Saab Ed · 11-08-2009 5:12pm

Let me let me......:D

T/D " Well Tom "

Guard " Well Pj how's the form "

T/D "Oh sure uuuh know uuurself "

Guard " Arruu headin up above "

T/D "deedin I am deedin I am "

Guard " Arra U have em all with you today, jayzuz did you ever give her a break ha !! ha !! "

T/D "Ah sure keepin her busy , thats all"

Guard " Goodluck PJ"

Was that what happened ???:D

charlie_says · 11-08-2009 5:14pm

AFAIK a farmer can drive on the roads with no tax or insurance if he has to get access to his lands if a road trip is necessary to get to some of his fields.
Having anybody not in a designed passenger compartment in any vehicle is massively irresponsible and stupid though.

Saying that though, a member of family was involved in a crash with a tractor and the son of the driver was hanging on the back and was killed in the impact. It was the tractor drivers fault he pulled out from a concealed and unsignposted side road. A horrible tragedy.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:14pm

Magnolia Loose Bullfighter wrote: »

Aahh bouncing along on the mudguard/standing up at the door(but with the door taken off) of a tractor and standing on the drawbar or on top of a load of bales on a trailer. Reminds me of my summers as a child and I'm still alive.

That's fair enough, I did some pretty stupid/fun/wild/dangerous things as a kid as well.

My gripe here is how "they" tell us that all these checkpoints, speed cameras etc are there "for our safety" and nothing do do with collecting revenue from us easy target motorists and then I see what I saw today.

Utter bull. (no farmer pun intended

)

drunkmonkey · 11-08-2009 5:16pm

Magnolia Loose Bullfighter wrote: »

Aahh bouncing along on the mudguard/standing up at the door(but with the door taken off) of a tractor and standing on the drawbar or on top of a load of bales on a trailer. Reminds me of my summers as a child and I'm still alive.

I bet they were much more secure than the looked.

Aahh, some lads will just never understand it..:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhiBMtDoNiw

Cookie_Monster · 11-08-2009 5:18pm

charlie_says wrote: »

AFAIK a farmer can drive on the roads with no tax or insurance if he has to get access to his lands if a road trip is necessary to get to some of his fields.

:eek:
Really? What if causes an accident?

Atomic Pineapple · 11-08-2009 5:24pm

haha I remember getting up on the stack of hay bales on the trailer, and then jumping over tree branches that came along and ducking for telephone wires.............................great fun.

however this was a back road with little to no other traffic and had a garda seen us I would have expected something to be done about it, shocking that the tractor was let go through a check point while its illegal to have more than one person in a cab on a farm or building site :eek:

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:31pm

draffodx wrote: »

shocking that the tractor was let go through a check point while its illegal to have more than one person in a cab on a farm or building site :eek:

I couldn't believe it myself. It wasn't just some lokel yokel cop on a push bike either it was a proper 3 car 4 cop road stop.

11-08-2009 5:34pm

draffodx wrote: »

shocking that the tractor was let go through a check point while its illegal to have more than one person in a cab on a farm or building site :eek:

Not if the tractor has two seats or even a half hearted attempt at a second seat though then its not illegal. When I worked for a builder there would almost always be two of us going around in the tractor(which had two seats) and I dont think the rules mean much on a private farm tbh nobody pays any attention down where I'm from anyway.

tom_ass19 · 11-08-2009 5:36pm

I'd get on to the local garda station OP and see what can be done about it. Ya fair enough everyone at some stage of their life has been hanging out the side of a tractor but as you said there was alot of kids in the cab. Complete stupidity imo and the guards should have done something about it, its a danger to the kids and other motorists.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:38pm

It was a single seater.

Magnolia Loose Bullfighter wrote: »

I dont think the rules mean much on a private farm .

Fair enough, but through a checkpoint on the N7 is a little bit lax to say the least.

Like I say, my gripe is being told that these checkpoints are for our safety, all I can see is a revenue collection point.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:39pm

tom_ass19 wrote: »

I'd get on to the local garda station OP and see what can be done about it. .

Me thinks that would be a waste of my time :rolleyes:

drunkmonkey · 11-08-2009 5:42pm

tom_ass19 wrote: »

I'd get on to the local garda station OP and see what can be done about it. Ya fair enough everyone at some stage of their life has been hanging out the side of a tractor but as you said there was alot of kids in the cab. Complete stupidity imo and the guards should have done something about it, its a danger to the kids and other motorists.

me arse, it's only a danger if there's an accident...no accident, no problem.

9293475_580043c073.jpg?v=0

Atomic Pineapple · 11-08-2009 5:42pm

Magnolia Loose Bullfighter wrote: »

Not if the tractor has two seats or even a half hearted attempt at a second seat though then its not illegal. When I worked for a builder there would almost always be two of us going around in the tractor(which had two seats) and I dont think the rules mean much on a private farm tbh nobody pays any attention down where I'm from anyway.

Really? maybe its just on a building site but we had it drilled into our heads on most building sites that only one person was to be in the cab of any of the machines or tractors (never seen a two seated tractor)

Think farms are only ever checked when a grant is being given for building work, my uncle used to drive a jeep that had its door held on by twine

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:45pm

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Hey DM....YA found them!

tinkerbell · 11-08-2009 5:49pm

That's ridiculous that the gardai did nothing - are they that thick that they let him away with it? Ugh, road safety in this country is a joke.

11-08-2009 5:53pm

draffodx wrote: »

Really? maybe its just on a building site but we had it drilled into our heads on most building sites that only one person was to be in the cab of any of the machines or tractors (never seen a two seated tractor)

Think farms are only ever checked when a grant is being given for building work, my uncle used to drive a jeep that had its door held on by twine

A lot of tractors have two seats. JD's, fendts etc have flip down second seats from the mid ninety's on and lots of tractors have seats built into the mudguard.

I'm not sure about the building site rule the lad I worked for was big enough but it was all out around the country side so he wasnt too big on rules like that. I spend most of my time moving machines from site to site, driving teleporters etc and I only had the safe pass never had any of the tickets(courses done) for other machines neither did anyone else as far as I know.

keefg · 11-08-2009 5:58pm

tinkerbell wrote: »

Ugh, road safety in this country is a joke.

That's because there's no money to be made in it.

Gran Hermano · 11-08-2009 6:01pm

keefg wrote: »

That's because there's no money to be made in it.

Well it's keeping those RSA numpties gainfully employed at our expense.

AugustusMaximus · 11-08-2009 6:18pm

All the same, he's lucky there was no woman on the tractor. Would have landed him in court with a murder charge.

tom_ass19 · 11-08-2009 6:27pm

keefg wrote: »

Me thinks that would be a waste of my time :rolleyes:

I guess so but still its a joke especially on a national road.

Saab Ed · 11-08-2009 6:36pm

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

All the same, he's lucky there was no woman on the tractor. Would have landed him in court with a murder charge.

Im still laughing

:D:D:D:D

trad · 11-08-2009 6:42pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

:eek:
Really? What if causes an accident?

Happened to a very good friend of mine not far from where the OP was on about, an uninsured farmer went from one side of the N7 to his field on the other, net result my buddy is in a wheel chair since.

Seth Brundle · 11-08-2009 10:45pm

I think that people are missing the important part here. What make/model of tractor was it?

snowman707 · 12-08-2009 11:18am

charlie_says wrote: »

AFAIK a farmer can drive on the roads with no tax or insurance if he has to get access to his lands if a road trip is necessary to get to some of his fields.
.

Where did you hear this? only wish it was true, would save me a grand a year.

only 1 passenger insured on a tractor PROVIDED there is a passenger seat.

no1beemerfan · 12-08-2009 11:33am

keefg wrote: »

I went for a spin today to Roscrea.......
.

EVERYONE is missing the point.....the OP must be the one thats mad...."I WENT for a spin to ROSCREA" wtf????!!!!!

I'd be taking a spin in the opposite direction

keefg · 12-08-2009 12:03pm

no1beemerfan wrote: »

EVERYONE is missing the point.....the OP must be the one thats mad...."I WENT for a spin to ROSCREA" wtf????!!!!!

I'd be taking a spin in the opposite direction

:D very good!

I did go there to meet someone so it was a valid trip and not just a jaunt to see the .....erm......delights that Roscrea has to offer.

Someone asked what make of tractor it was......it was a yellow one

if that helps.

Road safety my a*se.

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