Tractor Watch (tractors on motorways thread)

Cookie_Monster

Just to make the point.

Any tractor that can go above 50 is allowed on the motorway so the likes of Fastracs should be allowed. However if it can go over 50 it's not entitled to be run on agri-diesel and should be paying for normal diesel. As no farmer is going to do this it effectively rules tractors out of using the motorway

cooltown

I saw a farmer that would have being aged about 70 driving down the Cashel bypass wait for it in lane 2! Everybody coming up behind him had to slam on their brakes! Very near accdient! He then moved into Lane 1 and stoped in between the hard sholder and lane 1! It was quite scary! He nearly caused a few crashes!

baalthor

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Just to make the point.

Any tractor that can go above 50 is allowed on the motorway so the likes of Fastracs should be allowed. However if it can go over 50 it's not entitled to be run on agri-diesel and should be paying for normal diesel. As no farmer is going to do this it effectively rules tractors out of using the motorway

Pretty much every modern tractor can go over 50 - and I'm sure they all use agri diesel !

donvito99

Combine Harvester on N11 Northbound short of the Bray/Fassaroe exit at 15.30 this afternoon. He looked as if he was taking a nap, half in the exit lane.

bazzachazza

I hate seeing Tractors on motorways they are generally poorly lit and in most cases travel at a speed significantly less than other road users. I have reported them to trafficwatch but generally by the time you finish your call they are off the motorway.

Use of your indicator is a signal of "INTENT" not a signal of "RIGHT". The phrase is MIRROR SIGNAL MIRROR MANOEUVRE. You shouldn't sit in a lane for ages with your indicator on, you watch in your mirror for a gap, then signal, then check you mirror, then change lane. Your basically telling people I AM changing lane, not I WANT to change lane please let me out.

Signalling

Signals are an indication of intent - they do not confer a right of way. The law requires you to signal your intention of doing things on the road. This means signalling properly before moving off, turning right or left, changing lanes, overtaking, slowing down or stopping. You must signal clearly and in good time. If you are not certain that your direction indicators or stop lamps, for whatever reason, are giving an adequate signal, use clear decisive hand signals as well.

http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/traffic-lights-and-signals/motorists-cyclists-signals.html

L1011

Stinicker wrote: »

My undestanding was that the section down along there was still Motorway just with a 100km/h speed limit imposed. On Thursday at about 50 yards after the speed limit there was guards there shooting fish in a barrel as most cars came barrelling down into the 100km/h zone at about 130km/h.

Your understanding is completely correct, and the local Guards is wrong.

veryangryman

I think you will need to have a big fatal accident on one of the Motorways before this crap is stopped. Has anyone heard of any yet

Furet, can you change the thread title to include HQDCs/Motorways. Athlone bypass full of Roscommon farmers.

I never get it. With the speed they go, they might as well go through town - its less distance physically and probably quicker. Why do they do it? Any farmers on this thread, can you please advise the logic

Great idea for thread Furet.

Davidth88

Its one of the major differences between motorways here and in the UK

Any vehicle that can do more than 50km can join , however in the UK agricultural vehicles are banned.

I must admit the things I have seen on Irish motorways are incredible including.
push-bikes ( common between Lucan/Celbridge )

The amount of stopped cars is incredible , if people knew how dangerous the hard shoulder is they would not stop to , take a leak, make that phone call , have a nap or whatever.

I have seen a car stopped on the M7 near Kildare with kids playing in the hard shoulder , AND abut 300m behind with his ' ray gun ' out a Garda clocking people ......he must have seen these people , but there you go.

Pedestrians are common , esp on M4 towards Celbridge

Guys jumping of the bridge into the river between Celbridge/Lucan ( danger to them selves and motorists who were slowing down to have a gawk )

In the UK , if you stop , you are almost certainly on camera , within a short time a motorway cop/ or one of the pretend ranger-rovers will be there to see what is occuring

Please people DO NOT STOP ON THE MOTORWAY unless its a genuine emergency ( ie breakdown or something ) the hard shoulder is just about the most dangerous place most of us will ever be ( a combat zone may be more dangerous )

mickydoomsux

The other day (Saturday i think) at dusk i saw a convoy of six oldschool Vespa's riding along in the hard shoulder at maybe 40mph on the bit of motorway between Kilkenny and Waterford. Of course none of them had their lights on and one set of them was riding two abreast. They would have been scattered like bowling pins if someone had to pull in with a brake failure or something of that nature.

I see at least one example of easily lethal stupidity on the roads every day on my way to or from work. We really are very poor drivers as a nation.

trad

M 50 tractor004.jpg

M50 in Dublin, so it's happening on every motorway

mickydoomsux

Nice. Half in the left lane and half in the hard shoulder.

How does anyone do that and not realise how pig-**** thick it is?

Cookie_Monster

trad wrote: »

M50 in Dublin, so it's happening on every motorway

pity there no front plates, so can't even report it

trellheim

SI182/1997 IIRC

33. (1) A driver on a motorway shall not—


( a ) drive a vehicle against the direction of traffic flow;


( b ) drive a vehicle on or across any part of the motorway which is not a carriageway;


( c ) stop or park a vehicle on any part of a motorway;


( d ) drive a vehicle of a class for which an ordinary speed limit of not more than 50 mph is prescribed by regulations under section 44 (1) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 in the traffic lane nearest the right hand edge of a carriageway having more than one traffic lane except where it is necessary to proceed in that lane due to an obstruction or because another lane or lanes is or are for the time being closed to traffic.

Stinicker

Davidth88 wrote: »

Please people DO NOT STOP ON THE MOTORWAY unless its a genuine emergency ( ie breakdown or something ) the hard shoulder is just about the most dangerous place most of us will ever be ( a combat zone may be more dangerous )

I got a blowout last week on the M8 and had to stop but even then I moved the car off the hardshoulder onto the grass median inside it. This proved to be good as it put extra separation between myself and other traffic, however because I was on the soft ground my jack sank into the ground and failed to lift the car enough to change the wheel. Thus I had to call my Breakdown Assistance (Quinn Direct) and they had a guy out to me in an hour.

I sat there for a few minutes in the car but still felt unsafe even though my warning triangle about 200 metres back was slowing them but the amount of rubber neckers was unbelievable. Two friendly lads in small vans pulled in to see if we needed help, (Guinness Van drivers are dead sound!).

My man arrived and complimented me on having the sense to get in off the hard shoulder, even though I could have managed to change the wheel had I left the car there, but as the blowout was on the drivers side I would be facing traffic myself and just hadn't the balls or lack of intelligence enough to chance it.

Davidth88

Stinicker wrote: »

I sat there for a few minutes in the car but still felt unsafe even though my warning triangle about 200 metres back was slowing them but the amount of rubber neckers was unbelievable. Two friendly lads in small vans pulled in to see if we needed help, (Guinness Van drivers are dead sound!).

My man arrived and complimented me on having the sense to get in off the hard shoulder, even though I could have managed to change the wheel had I left the car there, but as the blowout was on the drivers side I would be facing traffic myself and just hadn't the balls or lack of intelligence enough to chance it.

The advice is that you get out of your car and get up as far up the verge as you can ... of course if it's pouring rain then you are less inclined to do this

People are actually drawn into the hard shoulder by stationary cars , and the next thing you know .... bang crash ......

whyulittle

Absolute torrential shower came down on the M4/6 this afternoon. A couple of cars pulled into the hard shoulder, and would have been wiped out had anyone else decided to do so.

Empire o de Sun

I hate tractors on the motorway.

Better to have the entry regulations as pictorial rather than as text. And the minimum speed should be at least 70 km/h

-Corkie-

I love your thinking Empire but I see a problem... Youll get some thick redneck that will travel the Motorway even with the above sign up. He will tell the Guard that the tractor in the picture is only a 2 wheel drive and his is a 4x4 tractor so hi is allowed.........:rolleyes:

Empire o de Sun

Or probably thinks the sign allows him on.:rolleyes:

Amtmann

I got this from the RSA today:

Dear Shane,

Thank you for your email regarding the use of agricultural vehicles on motorways.

An extensive review was prepared by the Road Safety Authority on the Use of Agricultural and Works Vehicles on Irish Roads. Among the issues raised as part of this review was the issue of banning agricultural vehicles from driving on motorways. Please see below an extract from the consultation document:

6. MAXIMUM SPEED AND MOTORWAYS

ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED
We need your views on introducing a maximum speed limit of 40 km/h for all agricultural tractors and to review the need to have all agricultural and work vehicles prohibited from driving on motorways.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION
A maximum speed limit of 40 km/h could be introduced for all agricultural tractors, similar as to that which applies to works vehicles, and by enforcing current regulation that prohibits vehicles that travel at less than 50 km/h from driving on motorways this would in turn prohibit agricultural vehicles from travelling on a motorway.

The findings of this review are currently with the Minister for Transport for his consideration, however unfortunately we cannot divulge any further details until the Minister has approved our recommendations. Once this has taken place, it is planned to publish an Information Note for stakeholders outlining our future proposals before drafting any new legislation governing the use of agricultural vehicles and it is expected that we will publish this document in the coming weeks. We will add you to our Stakeholder List to ensure that you receive future updates in this area via email.

Trusting this answers your query.

Regards

Vehicle Standards

Redsoxfan

I'd like to see agricultural vehicles banned from motorways (and maybe even certain N roads....), but is a 40 kph national speed limit necessary?

Cookie_Monster

Redsoxfan wrote: »

I'd like to see agricultural vehicles banned from motorways (and maybe even certain N roads....), but is a 40 kph national speed limit necessary?

exactly, what wrong with the effect 50 limit they currently have set by the fuel type usage limits

baalthor

Redsoxfan wrote: »

I'd like to see agricultural vehicles banned from motorways (and maybe even certain N roads....), but is a 40 kph national speed limit necessary?

From reading Furet's post, I think it's the easiest way for them to get tractors off the motorway. Actually banning tractors directly probably needs more legislation while setting a maximum speed limit just needs a ministerial order or something ?

Therefore, if the Gardai see a tractor on the motorway either it's going too fast for the tractor max limit or too slow for the motorway min limit, so there's no way for it to be there legally.

flazio

Empire o de Sun wrote: »

I hate tractors on the motorway.

Better to have the entry regulations as pictorial rather than as text. And the minimum speed should be at least 70 km/h

I think there should be a red diagonal line going down the symbols to indicate NO ENTRY to these categories.

Corkladddd!!

aujopimur wrote: »

Tractors, learners, pedestrians, cyclists,all regular users of the M8 between Dunkettle and Watergrasshill.
Does anyone know why there is not signs prohibiting such users on this strech motorway.

Sorry to tell you but in the eyes of the Roads authority the Motorway officially ends at the Watergrasshill on/off ramps as evidence by this sign.


The speed limit of 120km/h however continues to just after the Glanmire footbridge. To answer your query the reason there are no signs preventing this is that it is not a motorway so in fact the local Garda mentioned in a different post was correct. I believe it has something to do with removing the L-driver, agricultural traffic from Glanmire that it has not been classified as a Motorway.

Just to clarify in my opinion I think that the road is quite capable of being classified as a Motorway as close as is safe to the Dunkettle Roundabout as there are plenty of alternative routes for vehicles classed as not being appropriate for Motorways.

On the topic of Tractors on Motorways some are capable of 50-60 mph speeds and when on Motorways are driven at such and not like 60% of the traffic in this country that refuses to exceed 50 mph on the Motorway. Also the brakes installed in these tractors are much more efficient than any car and as such are more capable of slowing down in an emergency, in fact if a tractor doing 60 mph was followed by a car doing 60mph at a reasonable distance and the tractor did have to brake suddenly I would be almost certain that the car would rear end the tractor as it would not have the same stopping power. (This applys to modern tractors used by road haulage firms and agricultural contractors not every Tom, Dick and Harry farmer with a tractor)

*Rant Over :o

Cookie_Monster

Corkladddd!! wrote: »

, in fact if a tractor doing 60 mph was followed by a car doing 60mph at a reasonable distance and the tractor did have to brake suddenly I would be almost certain that the car would rear end the tractor as it would not have the same stopping power. (This applys to modern tractors used by road haulage firms and agricultural contractors not every Tom, Dick and Harry farmer with a tractor)

I doubt it, the type of tyre thread they have reduced effective traction a lot on smooth road surfaces, more likely to just skid or have the abs kicking in constantly increasing braking distance

Amtmann

Corkladddd!! wrote: »

Sorry to tell you but in the eyes of the Roads authority the Motorway officially ends at the Watergrasshill on/off ramps as evidence by this sign.

Totally incorrect. The motorway ends at the Dunkettle Interchange on the northbound carriageway, and 450m from same on the southbound carriageway. It was made a motorway in September 2009 as part of Tranche 2 of the motorway redesignations, applied for by the NRA and approved by the Department of Transport.

The speed limit of 120km/h however continues to just after the Glanmire footbridge. To answer your query the reason there are no signs preventing this is that it is not a motorway so in fact the local Garda mentioned in a different post was correct. I believe it has something to do with removing the L-driver, agricultural traffic from Glanmire that it has not been classified as a Motorway.

Right about the speed limit, wrong about the road category. It is the M8 motorway, as evidenced by abundant signage.

Just to clarify in my opinion I think that the road is quite capable of being classified as a Motorway as close as is safe to the Dunkettle Roundabout as there are plenty of alternative routes for vehicles classed as not being appropriate for Motorways.

This is why it was reclassified as a motorway in September 2009.

Empire o de Sun

flazio wrote: »

I think there should be a red diagonal line going down the symbols to indicate NO ENTRY to these categories.

The international norm is not to have diagonal lines.

Aidan1

I'd like to see agricultural vehicles banned from motorways (and maybe even certain N roads....), but is a 40 kph national speed limit necessary?

In short, and for now, yes. Even leaving aside the fact that these vehicles shouldn't be on Motorways, these is a strong case for such a speed limit for agricultural vehicles due to the much larger loads and higher speeds attainable by modern tractors, and the fact that in many cases trailer brakes have not kept pace at all. 20 years ago, very few tractors were capable of travelling faster than 30kmh, and loads rarely exceeded 8-9 tonnes. Trailer brakes, where they existed, were hydraulic. Now, most tractors used for haulage have 50kmh transmissions, but can actually achieve 55-60kmh, and they're hauling steel bodied tandem and triple axle trailers that can carry in excess of 20 tonnes. Some have air brakes, but most are still on hydraulics. And going by the number of new and nearly new tractors that need new brakes regularly, the trailer brakes are not up to much.

In fact, in the UK, the limit is 20mph, for exactly this reason.

A more complete solution would be to formally ban agricultural machinery from Motorways, and to institute a two tier structure for machinery speeds. Those that wish to travel faster than 30/40kmh would be subject to an annual brake test, as well as the NCT for the tractor itself, to a new maximum speed limit of 60kmh. Of course,the Gardai should also clamp down on the use of agricultural machinery for general haulage. That must cost the State a fortune in lost excise, and puts hauliers at a severe disadvantage. Particularly given that they are subject to a range of safety and tacho checks, and tractors are not.

BigMoose

Passed a tractor going south on the M50, about to meet the M11 junction as I was heading north at 8:20 this morning. It was pulling something slowly but couldn't see what.