40KPH speed limit for tractors

F.D

Has anyone seen the press or heard anything about the RSA /FTMTA pushing through leglisation to put a speed limit of 40kph on tractors
I know for a lot of tractors and our roads 40kph is enough, but for me personally it will be a real pain not been able to do the 50 kph
We have a block of land 5 miles away from the farm, 4 miles of that is on a perfectly level main road, so for coming back with an empty slurry tank, cattle trailer etc it really speeds up the job been able to do the 50 k on that road especially with all of the work having to be done on a saturday as i am working all week
I see they have issues with tractor on motorways / youg fellas driving etc but surely theres another way around this?
would be interested what the rest of you think

barryoc1

I heard bout this and i think its a joke. Bad enough us farmers/tractor drivers get slated all the time for drivin too slow and causing traffic jams over the summer. Now they want us to slow down more. Joke. They will be givin out even more then bout our slow drivin.

Most of the new high spec tractors can do this speed and the brakes are more than capable of handlin these speeds in most cases anyway i am sure, if not all (not sure bout the legislation). I know it might be a differnt story when pullin a load or on a small road but it should be up to the discretion of the driver to slow down to a suitable speed.

To conclude, its just more red tape for us poor farmers to deal with :mad:

babybrian

would love to know what JCB will think of this, Im sure they have put thousands into developing brakes for there 80kph tractors and then to be told by some retard in a department somewhere that it isnt safe. And I would love to know what the difference is between a Fastrac doing 80kph and say a Scania truck doing the same speed... load of crap, but anyway Im grand with my 30kph tractor

Muckit

I think that the 40km/hr speed limit was brought in to get rid of any ambiguity about tractors on motorways. I definitely think a motorway is no place for a tractor, other roads is debateable. It's all down to the competency of driver really and their ability to use good judgement, taking account of load and road conditions.

As regards JCB and other tractors that can do +50/hr, you'I see that if you want to run them at their speeds over 50/hr, they won't (by law) be able to be classed as an 'agricultural tractor', and you'I have to use ordinary white commercial diesel or have it restricted.

There are other stricter laws coming in governing sthe size of tractor that a learner can/cannot drive. I do think this is a good idea also.

I can see DOE/NCT type tests brought in soon also for tractors and big 'trailers' (silage trailers, slurry tankers, combi balers etc) . These will mostly affect contractors, but again a good thing that should be in years ago.

dar31

its a bit daft cutting the limit to 40km/h.
but i think the problem arises with the lads that dont have trailers and such kitted out for that kind of speeds.
on the way back from the school run this evening, i came behind a lad doing 45km/h on a back road with 20 bales of silage on the trailer, and not a light or trailer brake hooked up, how is he ment to stop that in a hurry.
on the other hand there are lads running trailers fully spec'ed out on air brakes.

FoxT

Sadly, I haven't driven a tractor in over 20 years now - but are they safe at that speed? Back in the day, once you got to about 20mph they started bouncing all over the place...

FF to the 21st century... It sounds like over-regulation. How many people have been killed by speeding tractors?

sh1tstirrer

babybrian wrote: »

would love to know what JCB will think of this, Im sure they have put thousands into developing brakes for there 80kph tractors and then to be told by some retard in a department somewhere that it isnt safe. And I would love to know what the difference is between a Fastrac doing 80kph and say a Scania truck doing the same speed... load of crap, but anyway Im grand with my 30kph tractor

80 kph tractor on our narrow roads :eek:

ihatetractors

FoxT wrote: »

Sadly, I haven't driven a tractor in over 20 years now - but are they safe at that speed? Back in the day, once you got to about 20mph they started bouncing all over the place...

FF to the 21st century... It sounds like over-regulation. How many people have been killed by speeding tractors?

front suspensions, air braked implements,4 wheel braking, well capable

bogman_bass

Its terrifying a young 16 year old up on a fastrac and putting the pedal to the floor. Something has to be done there

F.D

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

80 kph tractor on our narrow roads :eek:

Not much difference that meeting a truck doing the same speed,!! i'm not really worried about back roads dont think i'll ever have a comfortable fastrac to try 80 kph down one, but i think anythink less than 50kph on a main road is a bit extreme,
as far as 16 yr olds flat out on tractors, i think they should be assesed on there experience, if they wer brought up on a farm there whole life and used to driving and have a respect for tractors i dont think theres a problem, as for the 16yr olds not brought up on a farm that just get the silage urge, i think it should be up to the contractor to have the cop on not to employ them if there not fit for the job!

sh1tstirrer

F.D wrote: »

Not much difference that meeting a truck doing the same speed,!! i'm not really worried about back roads dont think i'll ever have a comfortable fastrac to try 80 kph down one, but i think anythink less than 50kph on a main road is a bit extreme,
as far as 16 yr olds flat out on tractors, i think they should be assesed on there experience, if they wer brought up on a farm there whole life and used to driving and have a respect for tractors i dont think theres a problem, as for the 16yr olds not brought up on a farm that just get the silage urge, i think it should be up to the contractor to have the cop on not to employ them if there not fit for the job!

Theres a big difference between a truck and a tractor on a narrow road. As for farmers teenage sons being more responsible driving tractors, I have seen at least two cases one fatal where they drove onto bonnets of cars coming around bends and that was doing 40kph. One of them was a farmers son that had been driving tractors since the age of nine and just so happens to be a neighbour of mine. In another case at silage the driver was going full throttle downhill with a full load, he jackknifed the tractor and trailer overturning the trailer and ripping the back axle of the tractor. The only luck he had is that there was no other vehicle on the road at the time.

FREDNISMO

I agree to speed limit and they shoulnt be allowed on main roads during busy times and should be made pull over when fast moving vehicles drive up behind them instead of creating traffic congestion

dasheriff

FREDNISMO wrote: »

I agree to speed limit and they shoulnt be allowed on main roads during busy times and should be made pull over when fast moving vehicles drive up behind them instead of creating traffic congestion

You'd know you weren't used to being out on the road with one trying to get something done on the one dry day or whatever,I drive them for a living, what am i supposed to do on the busy times..

ihatetractors

FREDNISMO wrote: »

I agree to speed limit and they shoulnt be allowed on main roads during busy times and should be made pull over when fast moving vehicles drive up behind them instead of creating traffic congestion

This is a ridiculous (proposed law), Have you ever driven a 50k box tractor?

I f i pass over the yellow line fully, im not covered for insurance, and 99% of lads do pull over when they get a chance. It's hard to find about 100m or so of space to pull in on a country road with a 20ft trailer behind you on a small country road. And if i was to keep off the road at buisy times, how'd i get the grain to the mill? build a designated shed isn't feasable, and i would be losing out on about 4 loads a day.?

Some stupid rules made by idiots with no knowledge of the situation.

bogman_bass

F.D wrote: »

as far as 16 yr olds flat out on tractors, i think they should be assesed on there experience, if they wer brought up on a farm there whole life and used to driving and have a respect for tractors i dont think theres a problem, as for the 16yr olds not brought up on a farm that just get the silage urge, i think it should be up to the contractor to have the cop on not to employ them if there not fit for the job!

I think the young lads that have been tipping round in tractors since they can reach the pedals are often the cockiest drivers because they have the experience but often dont have the common sence to with it.
I know when I was that age I would try to get as much out of a tractor on the road as I can and I think the majority (though there are exceptions) of lads at that age are the same.
I would never let anybody under 18 up on a fastrac if i had one no mater how much driving experience they had

Muckit

ihatetractors wrote: »

If i pass over the yellow line fully, im not covered for insurance, and 99% of lads do pull over when they get a chance.

A single broken
yellow line along
the side of the
road

This road contains a hard shoulder,
which is normally only for
pedestrians and cyclists.
If a driver wants to allow a vehicle
behind them to overtake, they may
pull in to the hard shoulder briefly as
long as no pedestrians or cyclists are
already using it and no junctions or
entrances are nearby.
Different rules exist for hard
shoulders on motorways. See

Section 11 for details.

This is taken from the RSA website. So a driver who pulls into hard shouler is not breaking the law. I recognise that your insurance company covering you is another thing. I can't see why they shouldn't.

The Nutty M

Muckit wrote: »

A single broken

yellow line along
the side of the
road

This road contains a hard shoulder,

which is normally

only for

pedestrians and cyclists.

If a driver wants to allow a vehicle
behind them to overtake, they may
pull in to the hard shoulder briefly as
long as no pedestrians or cyclists are
already using it and no junctions or
entrances are nearby.
Different rules exist for hard
shoulders on motorways. See

Section 11 for details.

This is taken from the RSA website. So a driver who pulls into hard shouler is not breaking the law. I recognise that your insurance company covering you is another thing. I can't see why they shouldn't.

The big word is may pull in there,no law saying anyone has to get out of the way.The problem with thick Irish drivers is they expect it to happen everytime they come roaring up behind something that is moving slower than their pace.The problem arises when a vehicle of any sort pulls into the hard shoulder and hits something or someone.Is the person that wanted to get past going to come back and take liability in an accident?:rolleyes:.

Minister Dempsey is rumoured to have signed off on a speed limit restriction for agri vehicles before he left office.It doesn't mean a blanket ban on going over 40kmh in a tractor,if you want to you can but you'll pay dearly for it.You'll need a tacho,come under the WTD,white diesel,commercial tax(a proposed draft document with the figure of 1567euro is mentioned),road haulage licence and a few other things that are actually for the good and are safety related.The IRHA has their hand up the governments hole and this is what has come of it.Not to mention the FTMTA agreeing that the speed limit is a good thing because it means less warranty issues with brakes.It's a vicious circle.

F.D

FTMTA Another quango or what ever they call it, there just looking out for there own interest ie. a money making project, with machinery testing etc
They should have no say! the farmer buys and operates the machine not them....
anyway i dont see how pulling EG 15 ton at 40kph with a trailer with dogey brakes and no test and a tractor pulling the same load with 50kph and a test is safer for anyone! i would imagine the risk of an accident is the same
surely it should be rated, so if the tractor is built to do 50kph safely with a load of x tons, then thats the law that should be enforced
As regards a driving test for new tractor drivers fair enough
but how many boy racers is out there in cars who have just passed there test ? it should be the guards that stop them if there driving careless, or the person employing them or there father if its the farm outfit
I would be all for getting brakes tested and getting certifed on implements every couple years as long as its not a massive expense or hassle and can be done by local garages etc
anyway sorry for the rant but it just seems like the farmer has no say as usuall

denis086

Looks like ill need a bumper sticker saying
"The RSA say i must drive at 40k & they say i may pull in!"
I wonder will drivers see the humour or would they prefer i was going 50k
Doesnt really bother us we only do a small amount of road work but we keep everything as best we can and i pull in whenever i can so not to give anyone a reason to give out.

Kilmac1

Sorry for the language but as usual the rsa and all them w**nkers in the goverement are trying to get money out of the people who provide their food the material for their clothes and work hard everyday of their lives. Im 17 and i would gladly take a tractor test even though ive been driving tractors since i was nine and like all young lads ive drove the tractor on a bit but hada few close ones and kinda calmed down and drive with a bit more care. its a bit unfair on a medium sized farmer who saved for years to buy a new 50 k tractor and then getting told he cant drive it at that speed is ridiculous. They complain if we drive too slow and now that we drive fast they complain what are we suppose to do. Sorry for the rant but its unfair against us farmers and contractors.

ihatetractors

Muckit wrote: »

A single broken
yellow line along
the side of the
road

This road contains a hard shoulder,
which is normally only for
pedestrians and cyclists.
If a driver wants to allow a vehicle
behind them to overtake, they may
pull in to the hard shoulder briefly as
long as no pedestrians or cyclists are
already using it and no junctions or
entrances are nearby.
Different rules exist for hard
shoulders on motorways. See

Section 11 for details.

This is taken from the RSA website. So a driver who pulls into hard shouler is not breaking the law. I recognise that your insurance company covering you is another thing. I can't see why they shouldn't.

Well all i know is that the fella the cousin works for had tip a few years ago, insurance company said that it was void as he had crossed over the yellow line

Finno59

F.D wrote: »

Not much difference that meeting a truck doing the same speed,!! i'm not really worried about back roads dont think i'll ever have a comfortable fastrac to try 80 kph down one, but i think anythink less than 50kph on a main road is a bit extreme,
as far as 16 yr olds flat out on tractors, i think they should be assesed on there experience, if they wer brought up on a farm there whole life and used to driving and have a respect for tractors i dont think theres a problem, as for the 16yr olds not brought up on a farm that just get the silage urge, i think it should be up to the contractor to have the cop on not to employ them if there not fit for the job!

I agree with this , i myself am soon turning 16 and drive on the road (40k box) with the auld fella whenever i get the chance , i'd like to think i'm sensible enough to not drive wrecklessly or too fast , ive a fair bit of exp , few years i suppose , Many a the lads in my class werent brought up on farm's (wannabes) and now have drivin jobs which is stupid cause there about as sensible and as careful as a toddler, just accidents waiting to happen i suppose.

Kilmac1

Finno59 wrote: »

I agree with this , i myself am soon turning 16 and drive on the road (40k box) with the auld fella whenever i get the chance , i'd like to think i'm sensible enough to not drive wrecklessly or too fast , ive a fair bit of exp , few years i suppose , Many a the lads in my class werent brought up on farm's (wannabes) and now have drivin jobs which is stupid cause there about as sensible and as careful as a toddler, just accidents waiting to happen i suppose.

i was in the same boat as you last year when i turned 16, boys thinking they can drive the same way i do but ive 8 years experience driving tractors diggers etc and i no the limits of them and my limit but these boys get into one and think **** it drive er on.....

keep going

you can debate all day about the rights and wrongs and what you think will cause the most accidents but this law is all about protecting road hauliers and gov duty,why is a tractor safer if you put white diesel in it and road haulage licence