[Closed] Are farmers above the law

Huge tractors even bigger trailers. What happened to the art of waiting for an opposing vehicle. No, I'll drive the nearside over the verge, cut it up and leave mud all over the road for drivers and cyclists to battle through. Fertilizer sacks and hay bale plastic strewn all over the countryside.
Big tractor hauling a huge weight at relatively high speed. The energy is enormous. Very little chance of stopping in a safe distance.
I thought driving a tractor exempted you from mobile phone laws!!!!

Regarding the hedges, that's usually the responsibility of the highways authorities, farmers don't get paid to trim hedges, same as they don't get paid to look after roadside ditches, which is why there's more localised flooding.
Full speed in a tractor is usually about 20mph, most country roads have at least a 50mph speed limit, so they're hardly speeding.
The mud is often an issue, but often the big tractors are owned by contractors who might work several farms, or a farm might consist of fields spread over quite a few square miles, bought from farmers who've sold up, so contractors are brought in to work them, and they don't care, and anyway don't have the means to clear the mud away; no convenient water sources or water tankers.
They might have access to a tank for spraying slurry, so I guess that could be arranged...

First world problem methinks.

Although I do live on a single-track road which is a short cut for a contractors depot along with surrounded by muddy fields - just part of rural life 🙂

It's the driving a tractor on the phone thing that gets me.

I've driven them, I know how hard it can be. So the guy driving past school at 0845 the other week with a full load in his trailer with one hand clamping his phone to his ear: not OK.

Sadly I didn't get a photo or number plate since I was cycling the other way, otherwise I'd have reported it

Full speed in a tractor is usually about 20mph

Someone needs to update their tractor knowledge

Law? What law?

Someone needs to update their tractor knowledge

Townies. You just don't understand their country ways.

Full speed *used to be* 20 mph, but not with modern tractors.

Plus, I'd argue speeding applies when 'too fast for the situation', rather than only when above the speed limit.

Id say nearer 40 mph, sequential gearbox, close ratios, like racing machines with huge trailers

People moving to the city and complaining about nightclubs... people moving to the country and complaining about tractors...

Hang on a minute...

[url= https://www.nfuonline.com/assets/1192 ]NFU MUD & HIGHWAYS BRIEFING[/url]

They're not above the law but many choose to ignore the road safety aspects.

Hedge trimming is often contracted out by local authorities to local farmers and, yes, the resulting detritus on roads and lanes is a problem for cyclists.

Leaving muck on the highway can result in magistrates court - mea culpa, here's a modest fine and don't do it again.

But it's a cosy relationship - local councils with farmer councillors on them, rural police (where?), have a turkey or sack of spuds or other farm produce from us at, yes we'll host the village fete etc.

It's the rural way of life - no it isn't; that's an excuse....heard it all before having lived 20years in rural north nottinghamshire.

Short and simple answer to the OP's question is - Yes. Pretty much. In rural communities where farms/farmers/farm labour are a substatial part of the rural economy a lot of people will turn a blind eye to most of the annoying shit they do. Growing up in, and spending about half my time in a very rural area I have plenty of anecdotes and run-ins with farmers pushing boundries.

My inlaws are farmers and they are completely oblivious of a lot of the irritating things they do because they live in an agricultural bubble a lot of the time.

By far the most dangours pass on a bike I've ever had was by a tractor towing a large trailer, doing +25mph I had just over taken it, when he was doing less than 25, which means I deserved to be forced from the road, only time I've arrived home shaking I was that scared, so yeah like every other type of person, some of them are dicks, some I'm sure are not

For some reason that tractor overtake video was hilarious.

Chrisdw- It is until you go to a Young Farmers do and realise he's one of the more normal ones 😀

The only thing that annoys me about farmers is they tend to be a right old grumpy bunch, often delusions of grandeur, invariably hard working, time constraint, resource lacking, land lovers.

But they do like a bit of fuss.

I have recently had a couple of encounters with tractor drivers which have left me slightly worried. Both times I was cycling down a single track road with the tractor and trailer coming towards me ignoring passing spaces with absolutely no intention of giving way. The first time this happened I just stopped in the middle of the road forcing the driver to stop. I asked him why he had driven past the passing place to which he told me to F... Off. When I suggested his tractor was too big for him, he started to reverse the tractor and trailer towards me!! It was then I realised I was dealing with an elite idiot and rode off as fast as I could. I now get off the road at the first opportunity, simply not worth the grief!

Just imagine how grumpy they'll be once Brexit happens.

Majority were in favour of brexit. They're an odd breed!

A lot of farmers are big royalists and they want to make the country great again.

They are odd, my family own two farms, both voted Brexit and both stand to lose huge grants that they rely on.

I've no sympathy, they hate me for it.

drivers of 40-60 ton articulated trucks are a far greater hazard

Think you need to look at weights of vehicles on a road. 40-44 tonne yes. 60 tonne not really very common without Special Types approval.

It is until you go to a Young Farmers do and realise he's one of the more normal ones

😀

"Rare breeds" is how best to describe them

Hedge trimming is often contracted out by local authorities to local farmers

Due to the cost of modern [efficient] equipment, probably > 80% of 'tractor work' is now carried out by contractors who will cover a pretty big area but their margins are pretty slim and time is money.

Oh and 'fast' tractors will have a 50kmph gearbox and brakes to match - whether the driver uses them or not is another matter.

Bloody townies! 👿

you know who to call to catch criminals who operate above the law....

sharkbait

Oh and 'fast' tractors will have a 50kmph gearbox and brakes to match -

Small comfort when it's a 14yo behind the wheel of an 8000kg tractor. Something I personally had to get shouty about with a farmer last year.

I "love" the tractor driver who chooses to drive the whole of the A27 between Lewes and Polegate, usually on a Friday afternoon when I want to get home and won't pull over in any of the many lay-bys to let the traffic ease.

He's on my list for the " Beachy Head People Carrier of Revenge"

Just wait til we are out of the eec, and then they loose their grants for new tractors, farm buildings, dead animals,crops, etc, and then try to claim eec grants for tourist based stuff, like pet a cow etc, or farm shops, and us who voted stay all shout, shouldve voted stay.

Should be a lot of cheap repoed tractors and farm animals when we leave though.

Don't worry chaps; I think that the Plod might be getting wise to the situation . . .

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The tractor I drive barely manages above 25mph, generates barely any mud on the road owing to the lack of tread on the tyres, and our hedgerows are maintained by the council 😉

My family are farmers. Their biggest problem, apart from Brexit (which, surprisingly despite all being massive racists, not all of them voted for) is drink driving.

I think most of them are outstanding in their field.

Ming the Merciless - Member

He's on my list for the " Beachy Head People Carrier of Revenge"

😀 😀

2nd page and no "they don't even pay road tax (or fuel tax)"

I was run off the road and injured by an employee of one of the biggest farmers in the country, his vehicle was over 4m wide and he had no escort.

I was told by an employee of NFU Mutual that they were more concerned with keeping him sweet as his continued business was worth an awful lot to them. They dragged out my claim for nearly three years because of this.

There's a sign in the lanes near me reading 'narrow lanes, wide load, your call'. Personally, on the bike I always pull over and usually get a thank you.

2.04 to see how not to drive country lanes.

Our new local 'super dairy' in Bala thinks it's fine to put electric fences across country lanes to direct their massive herds of cattle in their grazing - which then leave inches deep shit across the roads. Not a person seems able to touch them because the bloke who runs the farm is the local squire. Phoned the council about it as it's a real hazard - but I is just a serf dude.

Aye, one local farmer who's land borders a long distance walking path seems to think one length of barbed wire strung between 10m apart posts is sufficient to keep in his Highland cattle.

The path is absolutely destroyed, and has been for a few years now, local council not interested.

Tosser.

I'm usually happy to squeeze past other drivers in our narrow Deb'n country lanes, but if I see a tractor I'll always do my best to stay out of their way, usually with a big thumbs up. Not worth the risk IMO.

Everyone seems to rub along quite nicely around these parts (apart from when you town folk come down in the summer and have no idea about reversing or country roads in general 😆 )

live in a rural area , know quite a few farmers personally. don't even get me started on what i see and think about them.

usually with a big thumbs up

😀

Really?!

The country code of farmers suggests "raising the index finger of the right hand approximately three inches off the steering wheel" as the accepted method for acknowledging another driver. You can add a nod of the head for extra affect if you like.

First world problem methinks.

Although I do live on a single-track road

An Audi estate on every drive, immaculate patios (for bike photos) and wood-burner smoke emanating from every chimney?

Those big tractors, they only have headlights in the middle.

Every other vehicle on the road has headlights at the extremities.

You can't tell how wide they are at night until they are on you.

We must be really lucky with the farmers round here based on all the comments above.

Bad driving is bad driving, regardless of the vehicle. But mud, shit and thorns are part of being in the country. Adjust your speed and/or route to suit the conditions. If you can't deal with it, ride the velodrome maybe?

I disagree with drive to suit the conditions, any other industry would be hauled up for mud on road hand painted signs you can't read as they are splattered. The verges chomped to bits and pot holes that wreck anyone elses vehicles.
I suppose their argument is the £1 orange warburtons loaf would be more and milk twice the price

It's much better in the towns!

re. people saying it's OK cos they are only doing 20...

Those limited to 20 will not drive very well on roads - there's good reason that they're limited to 20 and on lumpy roads you can see the amount they bounce about. With the weight behind them, there's plenty to go wrong at that speed.

And the speed limit is a limit, not an appropriate speed for all vehicles around all features on the road.

Slightly OT, but this thread reminded me of being 24, cycling through The Pyrenees with my mates. We hit a 20 mile on-road section and caught up with a tractor buzzing along at a decent speed.

Like a ****, I attached a bungee to my bars, cycled as close as I dared to the tractor and hooked the other end onto the rear arm. How I rejoiced as I got towed along, two feet away from a lethal spikey bit of metal.

A passing driver gesticulated at the tractor and the annoyed farmer started to raise the machinery lifting my front wheel in the air. Managed to unhook myself seconds before disaster. Took it a bit easy for the rest of the day...

I'm from a farming family in a farming village. Same as anything really, there's good uns and bad uns. The good uns follow (most of) the rules and inconvenience their neighbours as little as possible. The bad uns tend to have the attitude that they've lived here all their life, they can do what they want and to hell with the 'newcomers' who complain when they've only lived in the village for the last 25 years. My dad is somewhere in the middle of this continuum - oh and he voted to leave the EU, but hates DEFRA (or whatever they are called these days) at least as much as the EU!

As an aside:

I suppose their argument is the £1 orange warburtons loaf would be more and milk twice the price

If milk was twice the price, then producing it in this country would be sustainable, instead of loss-making for most small producers....

The verges chomped to bits and pot holes that wreck anyone elses vehicles.

You live anywhere near Penkridge? I can assure you that "other industries" can gleefully destroy verges at frankly breath-taking speeds in huge tipper trucks, and not get into trouble.

Fields full of forty years of knackered machinery, Peugoets with weeds growing through the bonnet and rusted containers/artic trailers is what does my head in. Now I know the countryside is a working environment but none of that stuff will ever be used for work. If there was a grant available it'd be gone in seconds.

I would have though Mud in the road would be less of a problem since Les Gray died...

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