Revised safety standards for agricultural vehicles have been in effect since January 1, 2016. They are being introduced following a comprehensive review undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) relating to the use of agricultural vehicles on public roads.
Currently there are special provisions in road traffic regulations for vehicles which are primarily designed for working on farms, but which occasionally use a public road. These regulations have been in place for over 50 years during which time agricultural vehicles have become bigger, faster and more powerful; and their use has been expanded to include a wide variety of tasks outside the scope of the current regulations.
They are also used much more frequently on public roads today than in the past. However, they are not currently required to comply with minimum safety standards in a number of key areas, i.e. braking, lighting and visibility, weights dimensions and coupling and plating and speed rating.
For example agricultural trailers often do not have appropriate tyres, suspension or braking systems fitted nor are they equipped with braking systems which are designed to operate at the maximum speed at which the tractor towing them is capable of travelling.
Serious road safety risk
This poses a serious road safety risk and is leading to situations whereby agricultural tractor and trailer combinations using public roads are often under braked, resulting in premature tractor brake wear or failure including the possibility of jack-knifing. Therefore it is imperative that agricultural vehicles, especially those capable of operating at speeds exceeding 40km/h, are fitted with safer and more efficient braking systems.
Following a comprehensive review of current legislation, policy and practice relating to the use of agricultural vehicles, including public consultations and discussions with agricultural and industry stakeholders, the RSA submitted recommendations to the minister which resulted in revised standards being introduced. These were signed by the minister in June 2014 and are effective from January 1, 2016.
The changes have been framed to deliver road safety benefits at the least possible cost to owners of agricultural vehicles. It is expected that the majority of agricultural tractors will be able to comply with the new requirements with minimal investment.
However, due to the wide variation in current construction standards, some trailers already in service will need more extensive remedial work to achieve compliance. With this in mind a progressive range of measures are being introduced whereby farmers and contractors wishing to operate their vehicles at higher weights and speeds will have to comply with more onerous requirements.
A summary is as follows:
- More powerful braking systems will be required for agricultural vehicles operating at speeds in excess of 40km/h. Most of the correctly maintained tractors which have come into use in the past 30 years already meet these requirements;
- Agricultural vehicles will need to be equipped with appropriate lighting systems, flashing amber beacons and reflective markings;
- Trailers operating at weights exceeding 19 and 22.5 tonnes for tandem and triaxle trailers respectively, or at speeds exceeding 40km/h, will require fitment of both a weights and dimensions plate and a speed disc;
- New national weight limits are being introduced. These will enable tractor and trailer combinations which are unplated to continue in use at limits which are safe for such vehicles, i.e. combinations of agricultural tractors and trailers, where either of them is unplated, will have their maximum towable mass capped at three times the tractor’s unladen weight. Plated tractors and trailer combinations will benefit from being able to operate at higher weight limits of up to 24 and 34 tonnes for tandem and triaxle agricultural trailers respectively that meet certain additional requirements in relation to tyres, suspension systems and steering axles;
- Self-propelled equipment exceeding 3.5 metres in width will require an escort vehicle carrying wide load signage when travelling on public roads.
Further information on the new standards is available on
www.rsa.ie A dedicated booklet explaining the changes has also been prepared and can be downloaded from the agricultural vehicles section of the website. Hard copies are freely available from the ‘Orders Online’ section.
A suite of instructional videos (made in conjunction with the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association - FTMTA) which bring to life the contents of the booklet has also been prepared. These were launched at the 2015 National Ploughing Championships and can be viewed at
www.youtube.com/RSAIreland