You're not insured for this

Skimmer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North Notts
This tragic accident has shown how deadly farm traffic on the road can be, this was at 40k, a speed you would expect to walk away from in a car accident, yet many tractors are now running at 60k some getting towards 50ton gross, driven on a car license. Lack of maintenance or poor brakes are very rarely the cause of an accident it's usually down to driver error is it time drivers had hgv training.
 
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onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
This tragic accident has shown how deadly farm traffic on the road can be, this was a 40k a speed you would expect to walk away from in a car accident yet many tractors are now running at 60k some getting towards 50ton gross, driven on a car license. Lack of maintenance or poor brakes are very rarely the cause of an accident it's usually done to driver error is it time drivers had hgv training.
Plus knowing what to do when things start to go wrong.
Not trying to second guess what happened but reading back through the original post it is highly likely the tractor was coming westbound down A14 for a few miles before he turned off, you would want to be going flat out along there as you would have lorries up your arse the whole time, the slip road is a bit unusual as it goes down an curved incline and there is a roundabout at the bottom. Witness statements say the trailer was bouncing and out of control as it was going downhill, it would then have to try to negotiate the roundabout. It would be hard to give training for what to do in this situation, often you get a scare and put it down to experience and get a second chance not to do the same thing again next time, unfortunately this young lad didn’t get that second chance.
 

Skimmer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North Notts
Plus knowing what to do when things start to go wrong.
Not trying to second guess what happened but reading back through the original post it is highly likely the tractor was coming westbound down A14 for a few miles before he turned off, you would want to be going flat out along there as you would have lorries up your arse the whole time, the slip road is a bit unusual as it goes down an curved incline and there is a roundabout at the bottom. Witness statements say the trailer was bouncing and out of control as it was going downhill, it would then have to try to negotiate the roundabout. It would be hard to give training for what to do in this situation, often you get a scare and put it down to experience and get a second chance not to do the same thing again next time, unfortunately this young lad didn’t get that second chance.

Thats the lorry drivers problem, slow down you don't put yourself at risk just to please others.
 
Years ago, when I was in college and quite inexperienced as I wasnt from a farming background, I remember having a harvest job. I was chuffed as fudge. There were other chaps in as well. One of whom was vastly more experienced. And he knew it. Drove at all times like a bat out of hell particularly through the village with a load up.

I shall never forget seeing the farm foreman hauling him right out of the cab by just his collar. His feet didnt even touch the steps.

As a result ive never felt the need to go flat out in anything. Not only that but my skeleton could do without the rough ride and being thrown about these days.
 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
It's all because you are running tractors on the roads doing jobs that ONLY HGVs should be doing . . .

It just amazes me you are allowed to use tractors & trailers to cart loads on the roads, especially considering your population, traffic & road systems . . .

Sheer bloody madness

And yes, I have worked on farms in the U.K. carting hay, grain & peas on public roads. That was in the early 90's & I hated it then. Can't even begin to imagine doing it now
 
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That's the big thing I can't get my head around, you have vehicles going vastly different speeds all sharing the same roads. How can that be safe or sensible ?
Is there any country in the world any different? Tractors are banned from motorways but legal on all other roads. Depending on the road and the exact size/nature of trailer or machine attached there may well be other restrictions but comply with these and you're legal.
Im sure no two countries rules will be exactly the same but how much do they differ? Some countries certainly allow tractors to travel at higher speeds and/or pull heavier loads than here.
 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
There was some details in the court notes that the breaking system could be operated by both air and hydraulic, and that it may have been adjusted for air but was not functioning correctly with hydraulic which was all this tractor had as it was not the regular tractor to be coupled to that trailer - did I pick that up correctly ?
The movement on the air 'ram' was 82mm. The movement on the hydraulic ram was measured at somewhere between 70 and 74. The brake shoes were only just touching the drum when operated on air, but were hardly at all when operated with the hydraulic system. The brakes were out of adjustment whichever way you look at it.
You are correct that the tractor only had hydraulic brakes. It was the first time that the trailer concerned had been used on that tractor, as far as anyone at the farm could remember.
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
It's all because you are running tractors on the roads doing jobs that ONLY HGVs should be doing . . .

It just amazes me you are allowed to use tractors & trailers to cart loads on the roads, especially considering your population, traffic & road systems . . .

Sheer bloody madness

And yes, I have worked on farms in the U.K. carting hay, grain & peas on public roads. That was in the early 90's & I hated it then. Can't even begin to imagine doing it now
and lorries never crash or lose there loads ?
plenty of them running the roads over weight to
 

Skimmer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North Notts
That's the big thing I can't get my head around, you have vehicles going vastly different speeds all sharing the same roads. How can that be safe or sensible ?
Its not, a set speed for everyone should be 25 mph, virtually eliminate road deaths, encourage goods to be produced locally, discourage commuting, efficient, cut pollution & put freight back on rail.
Win Win situation.
 

Doc

Member
Livestock Farmer
I’ve followed this with interest.
Laws should protect the ignorant, naive or stupid from themselves and others where public safety is at stake. This is a tragedy but could have been a disaster if others were killed too. Wake up.
As has been agreed. Heavy towed loads on roads are the province of trucks not tractors and trailers.
Local grass contractors around here regularly employ youth because they are cheap. It’s the only reason..
I’ve always liked the saying ‘it’s ok to take a risk, as long as you are the only one to pay for it’.
 

oil barron

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
The movement on the air 'ram' was 82mm. The movement on the hydraulic ram was measured at somewhere between 70 and 74. The brake shoes were only just touching the drum when operated on air, but were hardly at all when operated with the hydraulic system. The brakes were out of adjustment whichever way you look at it.
You are correct that the tractor only had hydraulic brakes. It was the first time that the trailer concerned had been used on that tractor, as far as anyone at the farm could remember.

Thanks for the explanation. I don’t know if all air/hydraulic systems are like this, but deffinately something I was not aware of before and something to be mindful of if you borrow a trailer. Something we can takeaway form this horrible mess

The expert witness for the defence also seemed to suggest that it was the law that all tractors have air brakes which I found bizzare if I picked up correctly.
 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Thanks for the explanation. I don’t know if all air/hydraulic systems are like this, but deffinately something I was not aware of before and something to be mindful of if you borrow a trailer. Something we can takeaway form this horrible mess

The expert witness for the defence also seemed to suggest that it was the law that all tractors have air brakes which I found bizzare if I picked up correctly.
I'm not sure if all dual systems are like that, it might depend on the manufacturer.

I think that was a case of poor reporting.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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