Seen it all now - no lights

Padraig Mor

Heading to work this morning, approx 7.40 am. Virtually pitch black. Driving along a windy single carriageway road. What did I meet? A tractor towing a large rubble trailer. With NO lights on - none whatsoever. Seriously, is it any wonder there's so many collisions on the roads with people pulling crap like this?

BrianD3

I have stated on this forum before that IME the majority of tractor/trailers on the road are unroadworthy. Non working lights in the dark, broken indicators, broken mirrors, broken windscreen wipers, no numberplates etc. I drive over 30k miles a year and if I see a tractor/trailer with working indicators it's a major surprise.

Garda Traffic Corps seems to have no interest in doing anything about this.

Rant here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055049702

Seth Brundle

Did you report it Padraig?
Garda Trafficwatch - 1890205805 - save it in your mobile!

gyppo

Similar incident on the N6 monday evening - a guy towing a trailer with a large cargo of round bales. Now in fairness, his tractor was well lit up. But there was no lights whatsoever on the trailer, and the load obscured the rear lights on the tractor.
6.45pm on a drizzly monday evening, light failing rapidly, and you coming up behind him - practically impossible to spot.

Padraig Mor

kbannon wrote: »

Did you report it Padraig?
Garda Trafficwatch - 1890205805 - save it in your mobile!

I would have but I didn't catch his number plate - probably because he had no lights! BTW didn't they shut down TrafficWatch or is it on the go again?

Seth Brundle

Last time I called (about 3 weeks ago) it was working fine.

el tel

Thread title is a nice paradox...

ednwireland

dont forget them being overloaded the number of times i come round the corner on my road and theres a load of gravel on the road thats come of a goliath trailer really annoying and why are kids allowed to drive them anyway.

Henry Ford III

Stealth mode. I love it.

johnnyrotten

Lights? ah sure that would be a waste of electricity, he has to think of the enviornment! - Rolls eyes -

BanzaiBk

I nearly crashed into a tractor and bale trailer on Mon. morning on the old airport road in Cork on my way towards Wilton because of no lights. 7.30ish am, really dark and as I take the right turn up the road I think I see a black blur and then I realised what it was. I nearly had to swerve into the hedge to avoid hitting the front of the tractor and the driver had the nerve to start yelling out his window at me! I wasn't aware of the Garda traffic watch number...until now:D

gyppo

ednwireland wrote: »

why are kids allowed to drive them anyway.

Good point. Every silage season you see young lads thinking they're Ben Hur driving huge tractors. I know the braking system on modern tractors are very good, but a large tractor with a fully laden trailer still takes some stopping. And yet its legal for an inexperienced 16yo to drive them??
Something wrong there.

Cmar-Ireland

Similar story, but not with tractors...
I've seen 4 or 5 car coming out of petrol stations and the like with no lights on, on these dark mornings. People just forgetting to switch on the lights, due to the forecourt land street lighting.

Then they flip you the bird if you flash the lights at them :rolleyes:

Wishbone Ash

The other extreme is, of course, the lads who turn the light switch all the way to position 4 instead of 2 and blind everyone in front and behind with the field lights (illegally) on!

gyppo wrote:

yet its legal for an inexperienced 16yo to drive them??

...and perfectly legal for a 16 year old to operate a tractor with two trailers up to a maximun length of 75 feet once they avoid towns with populations exceeding 10,000 people!

jrar

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Heading to work this morning, approx 7.40 am. Virtually pitch black. Driving along a windy single carriageway road. What did I meet? A tractor towing a large rubble trailer. With NO lights on - none whatsoever. Seriously, is it any wonder there's so many collisions on the roads with people pulling crap like this?

Tractors and agricultural vehicles should have flashing amber lights on the cab roof thereby making them visible from some distance. Not sure if it's the law in France, but I've yet to see one the move there day or night that didn't have such lights.

Wishbone Ash

jrar wrote: »

Tractors and agricultural vehicles should have flashing amber lights on the cab roof thereby making them visible from some distance.

It's illegal in Ireland for a tractor to have an operating warning beacon.

jimmycrackcorm

Strangely enough there aren't many reported accidents of people running into unlighted tractors.

Wishbone Ash

On a similar subject, has anyone ever met a normally lit tractor at night only to discover that it is towing a large square baler which protrudes a few feet out. A white light on the edge of the baler wouldn't go astray.

Rippy

[QUOTE

...and perfectly legal for a 16 year old to operate a tractor with two trailers up to a maximun length of 75 feet once they avoid towns with populations exceeding 10,000 people! [/QUOTE]

I often see huge tractors towing trailers with massive excavators or other plant on them. Also big trailer loads of soil , rock gravel etc. At least as much as a 16 tonne tipper truck load. I assume these guys do'nt need a HGV (lgv) licence or have to meet the many other legal reguirements that normal large trucks would have to comply with? If so, I think this is a loophole that needs closing quickly!