phil the book:
1HGV not required . 2 NO O licence .NO MOT. RED deisel. saves farmers a lot of money.
Yeah we know why they do it, the point is why are they allowed to do it. 
Quite simply because they are farmers producing food for the nations people to eat (that’s YOU) AND keeping a lot of hauliers in business & truck drivers in employment hauling farm produce.
From field to farm by tractor & trailer, legally.
From farm to mill, legally.
Then by truck from mill to manufacturer.
From manufacturer to wholesaler.#
From wholesaler to NDC.
From NDC to RDC.
From RDC to shop.
Not enough bites of the cherry for you?
I got pulled in an all agency check on the A92 a couple of years back.While waiting on customs searching the vehicle a Vosa guy came over and started chatting.Started of by apologising for the delay,they were using the police facilities but the generator had run out of petrol so all the computers were off.
Along comes a farmer in a JCB Fasttrak with the usual big trailer on the back.Vosa guy says "these are the people wed rather be pulling" Apparently as standard with the factory hydraulic brakes they can only legally do about 22 mph and need the optional air brakes to run legally at the 45 mph they do.(or vice versa with the air/hydraulic). Asked him why they didnt pull them and he said they were not allowed to.All they have to do is follow the tractor with a Vascar unit,record his speed then pull them and see what brakes they have.Policy handed down to them from above is leave farmers alone.
Over forty years ago I sometimes drove tractors and ISTR they were allowed to travel on the roads for about a three mile radius of the farm.Now I see tractors from central Fife running to Grangemouth.
Mark.
Lifting grass theres no better CRAIC!!! 
Push the stick forward:
youtube.com/watch?v=Ga38kQWan_U
BTW,
I always pull over and so do the rest of our crew if we get a bit of a queue behind us!!! 
wouldnt be soo bad if you were stuck behind a fastrac 
Are you complying with the law for tractors and machinery on the road?
by Brian Donaldson
Warning signs must be used where tractors are being used. Note a tractor can legally tow two silage trailers or one silage and a harvester.
Over the next four to six weeks, the roads across the country will be alive to the sounds of tractors and self propelled silage harvesters as the grass cutting season gets underway.
Weather permitting, farmers will aim to have their first cuts completed by their target dates, something that many of them were unable to do last year due to poor weather conditions.
But is everyone fully prepared for the what is regarded as the busiest season ahead on farms?
This week in The Impartial Reporter, we outline some of the regulations which tractor owners and drivers are required to comply with while using machinery on the public road.
The aim of the regulations is not only to keep everyone within the law but to protect users of highly dangerous farm machinery safe. Farm accidents continue to happen too frequently and there are major implications for those who fall foul of the law.
Speed restrictions - Tractors not fitted with springs and wings can only travel at a maximum speed of 20mph on public roads.
Mirrors - Tractors must have at least one exterior mirror fitted.
Lighting - There is some confusion over whether indicators must be fitted to towed trailers behind tractors. The law states that where the tractor lights can not be viewed clearly the lights must be evident on the towed trailer which also includes slurry tankers and balers. If the overall height or width of the trailer obscures the direction indicator visibility of the towing vehicle, the trailer must also be fitted with direction indicators. "Danger No Signals sign erected on trailers is “not a legal substitute for correctly fitted and working direction indicators.”
Amber Flashing Beacons - Agricultural tractors with a maximum speed less than 25 mph must be fitted with at least one amber warning beacon when travelling on an unrestricted dual carriageway. A second beacon might be necessary on a high sided trailer.
Rear mounted work lamps - Rear mounted work lamps or plough lamps are designed to facilitate fieldwork operations during darkness. Displaying work lamps on the public road dazzles other drivers and is contrary to lighting regulations and drivers can be prosecuted. Hazard indicators can only be used while the vehicle is stationary.
Use of red diesel - The use of red diesel is permitted in tractors by the occupier of the land or the owner of the crop, or to a contractor or toher person engaged in performing an agricultural, horticultural or forestry operation on the land.
Driving on hard shoulders - Tractor drivers or other drivers should not drive on hard shoulders unless road signage indicates otherwise. If you are driving a slow moving vehicle you should pull onto the hard shoulder and stop to allow other road users to pass. If tractor drivers cause a long line of traffic behind, they must pull over to let them pass.Failing to do this could lead to prosecution.
Tractor passengers - It is illegal to allow a child under 13 to ride on or drive agricultural self propelled machines.
Warning signs - Farmers and contractors should use warning signs at field entrances of any potential hazards such as farm traffic entering, etc…
Hedgecutting - Hedgecutting is only permitted outside the closed season(March 31 to August 31) if it is the side of the hedge facing the road and is causing danger.
Red diesel - There is no restriction on the distance a tractor can travel on the road using red diesel, provided the work undertaken is related to agriculture, horticulture or forestry. Farm contractors can remove spoil from a site to use for an agricultural purpose while using red diesel in tractors but if the spoil from the site to the farm for use by the farmer was being used at a later date, this is considered haulage and red diesel is not allowed. Using tractors to transport building materials is not considered agricultural work but a concession would be made if a farmer was using their own tractor to bring materials to their own site for the repair of their own holding.
A farmer can transport his own livestock to a mart using red diesel but contractors hired in to do this is considered haulage and must use white diesel.
Vintage tractors - Vintage tractors used on a road run is not considered an agricultural activity and white diesel must be used. This regulation will have implications for charity road runs.
This should read:
Note a tractor can legally tow two EMPTY silage trailers or one silage and a harvester.
why cant all farmers have a jcb fastracs then there would be no hold ups 
only the irish would get held up behind them…
as those easliy do 90kph even when haulin 2 fully freighted trailers with palleted goods stacked 3 high held on with bailer twine destin for an RDC 
Henrys cat:
Some of us try our best Rog
That is all anyone can ask
I’ve been there and done that.
Then I did the sums. As a result, I’ve sold all the tractor based gear and now do the job properly with HGVs.
Can’t we just share the roads? There are not more tractors on the road there are less, gone are the days where a farm was worked by 10 or 15 men, now most of the tractoring is done by the farmer or his daughter, not many more than 2 workers on an arable farm.
There are not many tractors taking work from lorries in the big picture, but like a lot of school kids, most people do not realise where food comes from. That lettuce on the supermarket shelf didn’t grow in the bag, nor did those tangerines grow in a net, the potato wedges in garlic butter were muddy once and the jar of mustard was grown on a farm.
Without them you RDC men would have nothing to carry to the shops, and without them you would have to find something else to moan about on here
Indeed Malcolm, exactly the point I was trying to make in my post above, yesterday.
Wheel Nut:
Can’t we just share the roads? There are not more tractors on the road there are less, gone are the days where a farm was worked by 10 or 15 men, now most of the tractoring is done by the farmer or his daughter, not many more than 2 workers on an arable farm.There are not many tractors taking work from lorries in the big picture, but like a lot of school kids, most people do not realise where food comes from. That lettuce on the supermarket shelf didn’t grow in the bag, nor did those tangerines grow in a net, the potato wedges in garlic butter were muddy once and the jar of mustard was grown on a farm.
Without them you RDC men would have nothing to carry to the shops, and without them you would have to find something else to moan about on here
Don’t get many tractors pulling trailer loads of tangerines around here Malc.
wouldnt mind having a go in one these bad boys
Driveroneuk:
Quite simply because they are farmers producing food for the nations people to eat (that’s YOU) AND keeping a lot of hauliers in business & truck drivers in employment hauling farm produce.From field to farm by tractor & trailer, legally.
From farm to mill, legally.Then by truck from mill to manufacturer.
From manufacturer to wholesaler.#
From wholesaler to NDC.
From NDC to RDC.
From RDC to shop.Not enough bites of the cherry for you?
The number of bites of the cherry is not the problem, who gives a toss about that. the problem is they are mostly well over loaded, running on cheap fuel, have little or no regard for any other road user, VOSA have no power over them so to make it look like they are doing there job, they have to chase trucks. It looks like the law lets them away with it, so there on a good one fair play to them, Lot’s of people would do the same, the nasty bit of it all is there taking the ■■■■, and that will only last so long.
well i’d rather be following my mate in his 360HP fendt than some muppet in a waitrose truck
To be honest agricultural vehicles have never come under the remit of VOSA or needed an MOT in general farm use. But I am interested in your idea that they all run overloaded and run on cheap fuel.
By suggesting they are overloaded may be more to do with the fact that they are running on flotation tyres at about 50psi. It is like taking as read that when the two pensioners leaning on the village fence tell a policeman that the motorbike was going like a bat out of hell and was doing a ton, when in reality he was probably doing 35mph in second gear. They look heavy because they are bouncing
Agricultural vehicles are allowed to run on rebated fuel, it keeps food prices down, it isn’t the farmer making millions from a field full of carrots any longer, the supermarkets and packaging companies making the big profits. it is still intensive work but that work is being done by expensive machines and not hordes of ■■■■■ labour.
I reckon a farm trailer will have a carrying capacity of about 10/12 tonne running on 4 axles where a 4 axle articulated lorry can carry around 23/24 tonne so they are not very competitive.
On your point about VOSA, DB Schenker run on rebated fuel and do not pay any road fund licence, they carry much more weight than road transport.
I love field buggies
Chewyboy:
wouldnt mind having a go in one these bad boys
was supposed to have a pic of one of them JCB fastrac s in that post they look FUN!
Wheel Nut:
To be honest agricultural vehicles have never come under the remit of VOSA or needed an MOT in general farm use. But I am interested in your idea that they all run overloaded and run on cheap fuel.
By suggesting they are overloaded may be more to do with the fact that they are running on flotation tyres at about 50psi. It is like taking as read that when the two pensioners leaning on the village fence tell a policeman that the motorbike was going like a bat out of hell and was doing a ton, when in reality he was probably doing 35mph in second gear. They look heavy because they are bouncing
Agricultural vehicles are allowed to run on rebated fuel, it keeps food prices down, it isn’t the farmer making millions from a field full of carrots any longer, the supermarkets and packaging companies making the big profits. it is still intensive work but that work is being done by expensive machines and not hordes of ■■■■■ labour.
I reckon a farm trailer will have a carrying capacity of about 10/12 tonne running on 4 axles where a 4 axle articulated lorry can carry around 23/24 tonne so they are not very competitive.
On your point about VOSA, DB Schenker run on rebated fuel and do not pay any road fund licence, they carry much more weight than road transport.
I love field buggies
What about all the tractors pulling artic trailers on straw,they are all MOT failures,very few have a proper braking system or lighting.They are overloaded big time. A lot come from Mid Wales where I live into Herefordshire and beyond hauling straw back over 50 miles.I am not against farmers,but I think it has got to a point where something has got to be done about the loopholes that let them get away with haulage on the cheap.
Cheers Dave.
altitude:
VOSA have no power over them so to make it look like they are doing there job, they have to chase trucks.
Don’t you believe it, if its on the road carrying out a business activity, then VOSA will have it in for a look, and they know that most pulls will yield a nice FPN, I know because of the number of people I meet on farms who ask how us truckers cope with them 
.
Over loading is the favourite, a farm tractor and trailer are limited to 24,350 kg gross, easily exceeded with a tractor weighing 9 tonnes and an empty trailer at 5 tonnes.