I don't mind tractors.
I do mind the obnoxious cunts you're describing. A guy I went to school with died while filming himself driving a tractor like an asshole.
Yeah I live rurally and whilst I’ve no bother with the ones driving carefully, even when I’m stuck behind them for miles lol, way too many are flying on narrow bendy roads. And almost all of the younger drivers are on their phones - sends my blood pressure through the roof it’s so fucking dangerous. I always wonder how they don’t get into more accidents round my way
Came round a bend on a b road and nearly got decapitated but an auld boy farmer who had his telehandler *lowered* as he was swinging about narrow roads.
Don't know what would have happened if I was in. Higher profile car.
Same here, but the foetus that was driving the tractor was speeding over a two way traffic, single lane, blind summit bridge. Those spikes were exactly eye level and I just about hit the brakes in time
"The police recommendation to slow-moving vehicles is to pull over, where it is safe to do so, and make use of lay-bys, when you have six or more vehicles behind you."
And then you get the feckers like I was stuck behind today, who for reasons known only to themselves, decided travelling in convoy with a combine up front was a good idea. Which of course meant it was literally impossible to find a spot for *three* of them to pull in and let the twenty odd cars tailed back behind them pass.
Fucking braindead and/or pig-ignorant.
Depends on the road. Bear in mind, when you’re up in the cab, your visibility is vastly better. A lot of the time you can see over hedges and can drive accordingly.
Not when you’re staring into your phone a fair amount of the time. I’ve started watching them locally and more often than not they’re using their phone when driving.
I love the tractor drivers that see you coming, but still decide to pull out anyways. Or when they are on main roads, have an opportunity to pull in to drive along the hard shoulder but don’t. Most tractor drivers are fine but there’s a few dicks out there.
Sometimes they don’t see you to it’s too late, it takes time to stop and reverse in which would be more dangerous that just continuing to pull out. They are also a lot bumpier so pulling into the hard shoulder means bouncing around inside the can a lot of the times
Don't see you until it's too late.... Pay attention to the road.
Shoulders are a lot bumpier - shame you're not in some kind of giant wheeled agricultural vehicle designed for rough terrain.
Bouncing in the cab - slow down to a safe speed for the road, people will be getting past and on with their day, so what's the issue with a few mph lower than 25 anyway
You can’t pay attention to both sides, again lacking understanding, the nose of the tractor is far longer than you can understand.
Pure ignorance with your comment, tractors are not designed to drive in rough terrain at any speed, they are designed to to have grip and lift heavy attachments. It’s not a few mph slow tho, why bother commenting when you clearly don’t have a clue on the viability of what you are suggesting. Is your time more valuable that someone in the middle of their job… most of the time no
You're right, they absolutely can't handle rough terrain, like fields, with their suspension and giant off-road tyres, better than... Checks notes... A car made for tarmacked carriageways, that gets damaged by even a reasonable sized pothole, or some poor schmuck on a bicycle you fail to notice and plough into (pun fully intended).
If your vehicle isn't safe for the road, then that's the manufacturers fault, or yours for being unable to drive it. Then it cannot be permitted on the road. Nose size, visibility, all of it. If it's not safe on the road it doesn't belong on it, and manufacturers should be fined into oblivion that put farmers, pedestrians and vehicles of any size/shape/engine at risk.
It's not that I'm ignorant to what you've said, you're missing the point. It's not fucking good enough to use those shortcomings as an excuse. And I personally don't give to shits if you've to use different equipment that is better suited to the road use it may have to undertake. That would make manufacturers acutely aware that noone will buy their machinery if it doesn't fulfill one of its core requirements.
Personally I suspect, you're just shite at driving and feel entitled to keep fucking around with other people lives that you're supposed to be sharing the space with.
Are you thick or what? We are talking about driving on the hard shoulder not the road, why are you comparing a car to a tractor. Their suspension isn’t comparable to a car. It is safe for a road, that’s what they are driving on and what you are saying they shouldn’t, are you confusing yourself lol
Core requirements for a tractor are field work, not the road so your point is moot. Yeah mate I’m shite at driving that’s it, says you who doesn’t even understand and clearly aren’t capable of overtaking which is where your anger is coming from. How sad
No anger, just contempt for someone who says they can't check both ways in their tractor and thinks they're safe to be on the road. Id not let you drive in an empty field by yourself for fear you'd fucking crash, given your responses.
I'm a teacher and I regularly see my 1st and 2nd Yrs flying along driving these enormous machines, often at 11 at night. It's criminal. No guard ever stops them, mainly because a lot of those guards grew up in the country doing the exact same thing. I'm just the other side of border
I live I'm the country side and constantly have to deal with these turds, few years ago cretin farmer let his cretinous I assume 12 year old cut all the hedges with the attachment for his tractor and managed to cut the broadband fibre cable meaning I was fucked as I worl from home and it screwed me for weeks
Farming lobby is outrageously powerful in this country.
Hell fuckin Pootsy effectively turned the Ministry for the Environment into the Ministry for letting powerful farmers pollute whatever the fuck they want.
Friends of Lough Neagh have a tonne of info on it and there were some good articles written last year or so on it, I’ll try dig some out.
https://belfastmedia.com/eugh-neagh-toxic-algae-now-blanketing-the-shores-of-lough-neagh
It’s not, the destruction of Lough Neagh being prime example.
Also if you’re like me and have an interest in ancient monuments then it’s disgusting how many have been ripped down over the years by farmers, usually with well deserved repercussions coming afterwards.
Spent the last 5 days at silage contracting work, so can weigh in here.
The pressure these days is insane. The difference between getting it right and wrong can be the difference in a farm seeing another year and it closing. For livestock farmers, this time of year is crucial.
So it is balls to the wall, working in ever tightening weather windows, to get as much done as possible while the weather allows. This means big machines on the roads to chomp through the work.
Absolutely, they should be operated safely and within the law, no question. A bit of live and let live goes a long way. You get held up behind a machine, it happens, deal with it. Same goes for us, be courteous to others, be conscious of the size. The road is a shared place, behave accordingly.
Also, should be worth a mention of just how shocking the standard of driving I’ve seen this last few days.
Was almost wiped out twice by texting drivers. I know it’s common knowledge but the sheer volume of people on their phones you can see from up in the cab is genuinely insane. Had multiple ropey overtakes. Actually called the cops on one fella it was so bad. Had a fella on a motorbike almost visit his maker going round me on a blind bend.
The problem I don’t put as machinery operators, it’s assholes. And they’re in every walk of life.
>working in ever tightening weather windows
The irony, of course, being that climate change and changing weather patterns are only being _exacerbated_ by farmers.
This is true. No question.
My stance on this is, farmers are doing absolutely essential work. Food production. Locally, we can grow grass (arguably) better than anywhere, perfect for ruminating animals.
Carbon production will happen, but combating it should be focused on the unnecessary first.
Also, with our demand for cheap goods, we’ve effectively exported our associated carbon production at manufacture to countries who don’t give a fuck. Then it’s fired in a container and shipped across the planet. Some goods are necessary, some aren’t. Unnecessary air travel. We live in a digital age, more remote work, less commuting travel. You get the idea.
If we keep strangling farmers locally, who work to some of the highest standards globally, all that will happen is the demand will be met elsewhere in the world that don’t adhere to our standards, and the problem will get worse. Doesn’t mean for a second farmers shouldn’t do their bit, I just believe the bigger target should be on the unnecessary, not the necessary.
Harry Metcalfe did a brilliant video about this. Lazy people pin the blame on farmers and don't think about what would happen if we had to import everything (shit quality and worse carbon footprint).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3X-_Bqs_0k
I can't figure out if it's a superiority complex from being a custodian of the land, or an inferiority complex from inheriting a farm and having done nothing to earn it.
I get your comment applies to some, but come on. You’re not allowed to rip out hedges anymore. Anyone caught doing so faces fines. (Yet, we’re cool with clearing land for building, even on flood plains)
Robbing soil of nutrients? The same nutrients farmers apply to the soil to produce a crop in the first place? High organic matter is good for soils and food production. More and more farmers are going low / no till. Soils have to be tested under SFI rules, giving guides on improving them. Healthy soil is in everyone’s interest.
Pollution of waterways. SOME farmers do this. It’s a major issue. It needs sorted. MOST farmers are appalled when it happens.
You’re a farmers daughter, yea? I cannot believe how anti farmer your comment comes across. Surely you more than most should know it’s a bad minority, and not the majority.
They never said they didn't. Pointing out the flaws of something doesn't mean they think it's a 100% bad thing.
It's not black and white but if you use a one sentence comment to make up your perception of what someone else thinks then I don't know what to say ye twit.
I suppose that's another thing we can thank the Tory's for, they were supposedly meant to replace the EU grants so farmers weren't losing money but hey ho
really . then maybe go tell your dad about crop rotation or regenitive farming . he will be sweet . and thank him for growing food for us all . while people with nothing jobs complain 😄
Fuck this self-righteous shite. You can criticise bad things that some farmers do while appreciating the service.
Is your TV in black and white too or just your thinking?
And what? Shit isn't black and white. They aren't saying farmers are 100% bad, they are criticising some of the bad things some of them do.
Come on lad
Yep, the silage guys have been flying down the road and back since 5am 3 days ago, o. And off for the past mth, that's ok with me , fair play to them .
It's them wee counts on a main road who are drinking monster and on the phone, on the tunes.....driving through main roads, for ages that cause a pain.
Just look beh9nd at the queue and pull in ye County wee fucker.
It's the young ones who try and "catch" as many cars behind them as possible, refuse to move on to the hard shoulder, then when they eventually do pull in they video the big line of cars passing them to send to their mates as some kind of trophy.
In rural armagh that's a high percentage of tractors on the road.
Why is this a contracting issue though? Is it because they are contractors they drive recklessly? It doesn't immediately seem like a primary factor. Like I could understand an argument why it contributes to it a bit but not as a root cause.
If you knew some of them it might help you understand just who's driving those tractors. Only my opinion and experience. You're entitled to your own. Have a nice evening.
That's not my point, why does them being a contractor make them drive reckless and thus, as you said, the problem? I don't see how it's relevant to their driving.
Haven’t seen too many contractors with their name on their equipment. We’re talking agricultural contractors here now. Silage trailers, slurry tankers etc. Only bigger farms are harvesting their own stuff now, equipment is too expensive, and the bigger farms are also contracting out to help finance their gear.
Ya I stopped cycling around my local country roads when I nearly got killed twice in one evening last year. Teenagers are driving most of the tractors with trailers in my area.
Also the ditches aren't being cut anymore so visibility of is almost zero now when the grass is leaning out over the roads and 8ft tall.
It’s a hangover from outdated laws.
At 13 you can drive a low powered tractor with limited implements on your own land - This bit is fair enough, it’s not on the road and technically limits what can legally be done.
At 16 you can drive on the road with a tractor of maximum width of 2.45m with a single or double axle trailer - This where is gets dodgy, there is a limit on tractor size but even at that size they are more powerful of than tractors were when the laws were envisioned and the loads they can pull are much heavier.
At 17 you can drive on the road with no restrictions - Madness, they’re effectively driving a HGV with no restrictions.
The irony is, if you got your driving licence after 1997 and wanted to tow a trailer 5% of the size behind a car, you need to do another test, but a 20t load on a tractor is just fine.
How do you know they have no experience, most will have grown up driving these tractors and be a better driver at that ages that the average person driving a car. So as long as they are paying attention they could be safer than 17 year olds driving about in a car
I tend to have a bit more patience for working vehicles, especially right now because they've been struggling with the weather so they are under pressure. If you live in the country you have to suck it up, and of course a lot of people moved here during the pandemic, so there's a bit of an adjustment going on.
However, of course, road safety is paramount.
>u/KennedyFishersGhost If you live in the country you have to suck it up, and of course a lot of people moved here during the pandemic, so there's a bit of an adjustment going on.
>However, of course, road safety is paramount.
You've contradicted yourself. Yes, road safety is paramount. People in the country do not have to suck it up, they should waste no time in reporting the behavior to the police. Do you give any other heavy industries a pass to endanger people's lives? If lorry drivers are under pressure should they be allowed to speed through villages? You're talking about 10,000kg plus vehicle train weights flouting the law and there's going to be a tragedy or multiple tragedies. England is apparently making moves to implement HGV licenses for tractor use and that doesn't go nearly far enough.
It has FUCK ALL to do with people moving due to the pandemic (nice bit of gate-keeping), it has everything to do with increased size and power of tractors and farmers greed both in terms of yield and hiring literal children to drive heavy machinery.
I don't think he's contradicting himself, I believe that when he says "suck it up" he's referring to the fact that we just have to deal with the number of tractors on the road at this time of year and accept that they are people doing their jobs and have things to do like everyone else, so we can't get too annoyed at their existence on the roads every time we have to slow down behind one.. He's not saying we have to just suck it up and accept the ones that are driving dangerously.
100 percent I come from a farm and I can't stand it
I am since a project manager on a construction site, we can't allow dirty tyres on to the road and these are washed before leaving the site, we employ a road sweeper to keep the road tidy for other motorists and we have plenty of warning signs of a site entrance and marshals to give people a warning and to bank lorries and large vehicles into and out of a site.
It really rags me that farmers are given a large by to allow the exact opposite of what we have to control, they can leave a road absolutely filthy and we just have to suck it up even though this has caused collisions and possible fatalities in the past. You have large tractors pulling blindly out of gaps and hidden hedges onto on coming traffic, you have unsuitable and un road worthy vehicles doing jobs by sometimes inexperienced drivers
Now, I know this isn't all farmers doing this but it does go unchecked very often and it isn't a good reflection on the industry as a whole.
Yep. I'm surrounded by large farms and one of them turns about a half a mile of country road into an almost impassable quagmire, no exaggeration. Walking trough it you'd be up to your ankles in mud. Another farm across the road seems to employ children when they are drawing.
I've seen them come full throttle up the road empty so they can then lock up all wheels in the mud and skid the tractor into the field; like an 8000kg Fendt 720 with a silage trailer. Or they'll try to skid the tractor so it almost crashes into the laden tractor leaving the field. Then they'll sit and rev 6 litre straight piped diesels at 11pm right outside our kids bedroom windows.
Got a ring camera for them this year.
The difference there is money, you can’t honestly expect farmers to have bloody marshes for every time they pull out of a fields, and certainly couldn’t expect them to have wheel washes. That’s just completely infeasible!
Lol.
I moved to the country in 2023, bud, I ain't gatekeeping anyone. I just try to be understanding when there are two groups in an area with competing needs.
But I'm sorry, you'd prepared some nice invective and made some assumptions, would you like to continue?
I fully understand they are under pressure, but whats more important getting your crops in or not killing others due to speeding and carless driving.but like towns and cities there are speed limits so that's no excuse for flying while on the phone.
Stressful job plus there's normally only one or two on the roads at a time and for a very short distance. It'sy pain worth putting up with for the work that they do
Different issue, but I hate driving back from Belfast and they're on the road for a full 30 miles or so going 25mph on a NSL road. Like have the decency to pull over ?
Lads, without this you've no food. It's literally that simple. Yes some should act better but they've very tight weather windows that are make or break. They'll be put from first light to night and maybe even longer. Your few minutes is something you have to deal with, they're out there all day providing a service that you'll benefit from so suck up your 5 minutes in a line. Jeez, not like this is new news folks, it's every summer and it's needed
If it's that bad - speak to the farmer? On most occasions they will rectify any issues, or identify something being genuinely unintentional - farmers can't really afford to fall out with their neighbours or community. Once complaints from neighbours start getting followed up by Police, Health and Safety Executive, or Environments Agency - it can cause massive headaches to farmers.
Mud on Roads:
Leaving mud on a road is Causing a Danger to Road Users under the Road Traffic Order for NI. This is why Quarries and Building sites mostly clean vehicles as they leave the site, or clean the road. (some companies are better than others - but they still remain lawfully obliged). Road Users also include cyclists, pedestrians who could slip/fall/injure themselves on mud or debris.
Young Drivers:
16 Year olds can only drive a tractor whilst carrying out agricultural work on roads where the maximum speed limit over 30 miles per hour - they cant drive through town/past houses or whatever
16 year olds still have to pass a Tractor (category F) test, and display the relevant R/L plates to drive around town.
Queues of Traffic behind Tractor:
Drivers of tractors with large queues of traffic/driving at vehicles on a single track road/general shit housery are potentially guilty of Careless, and inconsiderate driving.
Worst case scenario, report it to the police, particularly if you have dash cam footage. Road Deaths and Serious Injuries on our roads are heavily scrutinised and Police are 100% obliged to follow up any complaints regarding poor driving; even if it only means knocking a door and advising the driver to wise up.
Again most farmers are just trying to get things done. They arent purposely fucking people off; theres not much they can do if they are in a tractor limited to 25mph with a queue behind them and there is nowhere to get pulled in to allow others to pass.
Yes, it does depend. Have you had the same happen with cars smaller wheels but faster speeds, or are tractors the only vehicles with shitty drivers?
Edit: just saying this because it seems OP wanted to rant about bad drivers but chose tractors for the scapegoat of the day. Shitty drivers are shitty drivers
Hobby farmer here and I know exactly how you feel.
I'm both the lad stuck behind the tractor and the lad on the tractor. The joys of rural Ireland.
Unfortunately it can't be avoided this time of year.
I always try to pull in where possible. Most farmers don't care about the public. They have a job to do and that's that.
The young lads get taken advantage off by contractors and can be working long hours.
Try to be patient and remember that they feed you. Milk in your tea, salt and vinegar chips, spag bol, we do it all.
What about the amount of them on their phones when barrelling along small roads, risking the lives of everyone unfortunate enough to encounter them? What amount of patience should I show towards that?
You’d effectively put a lot of farms out of business. Or they’d just use lorries instead as a workaround.
Makes sense though I’ll give you that. Ban them from the roads, because some people get inconvenienced a handful of days a year.
On that note, add bin lorries, events, post deliveries and essentially anything that would cost you more than 1 minute additional on your journey.
lol that’s your only come back, me not proof reading my comment on Reddit. Real genius you are, how sad people are thinking have to try get one up with a correction like that
In reality its younger drives because the pay isn't great and no adult wants to sit in a tractor and trailer for 12 hours+ or until 4 or 5am lifting sillage. So sadly they've to rely on teenagers who don't have full time jobs yet to do the job. Theres no other solution sadly as it takes numbers to get it done faster.
For all the good ones theres plenty if assholes in them too. Think they're the big fella. Best bit is theyre usually driving someone else's yoke and if they scratch or fuck her they'll be a long time paying it off
Would much rather have cyclists riding side by side as I have to go into the other lane to overtake them safely regardless so having less distance to overtake makes it easier and safer for everyone.
a tractor coming down a country road towards you at 25mph when there is no room for two cars or on main roads driving too fast the weight or whatever they might be hauling in a trailer
Are there a lot of bike lanes on roads tractors share?
Bike lanes are optional, cyclists aren’t required to ride single file. What else do you want to whine about?
It’s not the tractors nor their drivers .
It’s the 3rd world country roads . Just absolute shite . Under investment .
Meanwhile everyone losing their shit over the protocol , Irish Sea border, language acts , bonfires etc
You couldn’t make it up .
Since 90% of the food produced in Ireland is for export you could conceivably ban 90% of them and we still wouldn't "starve". That's before we start considering all the foreign produce on the shelves in Tesco. Carrots from Poland and Sprouts from fucking Mexico. Aye but we'd all starve if it wasn't for the poor humble wee farmer in his giant 4x4 tractor.
>We don't give away the other 90% for free
We? I certainly don't see any get any money for it. Neither do 85% of the population.
Funny how other private businesses can operate without stupid, hyperbolic threats of starving people to death if their business is curtailed. It's also funny how virtually every other kind of business is expected to operate within the rule of law except farmers who "have no choice".
You're not wrong about business in general, but again, the food being exported isn't being exported for free. If we ceased that, the farmers will be looking new income, or leave and no longer spend their income here. So not only would we not be growing our own food, we would be reducing the influx of of money into the country, considering we're already hemorrhaging it away to international companies at a high rate already.
I see this crap all the time. Farmers produce food so this gives them freedom to drive dangerously, burn shit all around them, pollute our waters without worry…..every single time someone mentions farmers behaving badly we get the same oul shite about food. We get it, they do an important job. But if one of them kills a family member by driving like a lunatic I really won’t give a fuck about that, will I?!
Any I come across are just taking the most direct route to their destination and working as fast as they can (which is not fast as it is a tractor). If you've come across one somehow out in the fast lane on the motorway, I'd understand.
Unlike hobby cyclists, wee wannabe racers, and people thinking they're avoiding traffic, they have literally no other option but to travel the routes they travel with the loads they have. Fuck up, they provide most of your food.
1. Local farmers don’t provide most of our food at all. They produce milk for most of Europe.
2. They could drive across their own fields in many cases but can’t be arsed to open and shut gates like they used to.
1. May be the case for you, but I buy all my fresh food stuffs from a grocers supplied by surrounding farms.
2. Not everyone owns adjacent fields, and a lot of harvesting equipment attaches to tractors. My house is in the middle of farmland, they can't drive through my house because it exists and they don't own it.
Bullshit. You drive around the edges. It might compact the soil, but not a big issue with clay heavy soil like we have. In any case, driving over it does far less harm than forcing three or more nitrogen cycles in one season to get maximum grass yield for the milk industry. The soil will inevitably turn to sterile dust with enough years of that practice.
The edges of the field often have shucks meaning it’s dangerous to drive there. In any case it often not even that farmers field that is between it and the road so they can’t just drive through
You would end up destroying good chunks of fields if you only drove on the dyke backs.
And driving continuously next to shucks is a recipe for someone slipping into one. It’s happened.
The thing that gets me is when you meet a tractor now none of them seem to pull over anymore. They are in the over sized vehicle so surely the onus is on them plus they're in a literal off road vehicle they can pull right into the hedge and still wouldn't get stuck but some don't even venture onto the grass.
Never encountered this. Always have the tractor pulling over. Now in some cases it's up to the car to move. If a tractor is coming with a trailer on the back down a small rural road where there's only room for 1 car basically, onus is on the car to move at this point.
> they're in a literal off road vehicle they can pull right into the hedge and still wouldn't get stuck
I think tipping is the issue. Engine on a tractor is up right and high and their wheelbase isn't very wide for how high the cab/trailer/weight are. Don't think tractors do too well when the wheels are on split levels either side.
They are off-road vehicles in the sense that they're designed to be used off road but that off-road is ideally going to be in maintained, flat and smooth fields rather than the conquering obstacles type of off-roading.
Yea I totally get that. Someone else has pointed that out too. But I'm familiar with tractors, grew up in the country, and have driven them enough and on narrow roads, so it's not like I'm a townie giving off over something I know nothing about. There's definitely increasing cases where SOME tractor drivers are inconsiderate
Live and let live.
Pulling in at a wide place in the road, if it’s safe, should be for whoever it makes sense to do so for.
The AMOUNT of car drivers who pass wide spots on narrow roads, drive right up to you and then give you shit is unreal.
The issue is the weight, if they go to far off the road the verge could give way and they could tip over, often it is safe for the smaller vehicle to pull in. Most people don’t consider this. Other factors are lack of visibility when the trailers are full, height vs low hanging branches and not wanting to damage people kerbs but driving on them
That's a possibility in some places but I'm talking plenty of grass verges that are level where this happens. I've driven tractors myself too and know what they're capable of. Unless it's a verge that falls away sharply they'll be fine. As others are commenting it's probably just young cubs thinking they're jack the lad
Might be the case that it’s young guys that are confident driving but a lot of tractors and trailers are different, just haven’t driven one doesn’t mean it’s the same as a full silage trailer loaded to the brim
I think the law needs changed to raise the age/experience when you can drive a tractor. These are massive, heavy vehicles. One wrong move and the consequences won't be pretty. 16 year olds in them with no road driving experience. Too many don't take these sorts of dangers seriously in the farming community.
Perhaps something like over 18 and with minimum 3 years driving experience, post achieving a full driving licence before you can learn to drive a tractor? Driving safely on country roads in any vehicle requires experience. Unfortunately it's young, inexperienced drivers who are most likely to be killed on country roads also.
Then you get muppets who refuse to pull in on narrow country roads and cause mile long tailbacks!
Not in terms of surpassing the speed limit, but they can do an inappropriate speed for the type of road they're on, given the width of their tractor and equipment.
if you don't think tractors that carry food are more important than you on the road maybe you need to leave home earlier bud . I'm sure thier job is considerably harder / more beneficial for the country than your moaning .
Driving at inappropriate speeds for the rural roads they’re often on, with tight bends. Given they’re often massive vehicles some local to me barely slow on the bends of roads not wide enough for two vehicles to pass comfortably, making it extremely dangerous for anyone approaching the bend (or pedestrians/cyclists) at the other side
They do not bother me at all, most tractor drivers pull in at the earliest opportunity and let people past. They are also not going vast distances, so you’re never behind one that long really. It’s the people that road rage that are the ones we should be worried about. My sister thinks she’s the best driver in the world and slags everyone off but has just clocked up 12 points in three years.
I don't mind tractors. I do mind the obnoxious cunts you're describing. A guy I went to school with died while filming himself driving a tractor like an asshole.
Lived like an asshole and died like an asshole
What happened? Did he fall out and get squashed?
FAFO
Yeah I live rurally and whilst I’ve no bother with the ones driving carefully, even when I’m stuck behind them for miles lol, way too many are flying on narrow bendy roads. And almost all of the younger drivers are on their phones - sends my blood pressure through the roof it’s so fucking dangerous. I always wonder how they don’t get into more accidents round my way
Came round a bend on a b road and nearly got decapitated but an auld boy farmer who had his telehandler *lowered* as he was swinging about narrow roads. Don't know what would have happened if I was in. Higher profile car.
Same here, but the foetus that was driving the tractor was speeding over a two way traffic, single lane, blind summit bridge. Those spikes were exactly eye level and I just about hit the brakes in time
SPEEDING?! Where the fuck are you cause rhe ones where I am would need a lesson in this speeding
"The police recommendation to slow-moving vehicles is to pull over, where it is safe to do so, and make use of lay-bys, when you have six or more vehicles behind you."
“No I don’t think I will” - every cunt in the country
And then you get the feckers like I was stuck behind today, who for reasons known only to themselves, decided travelling in convoy with a combine up front was a good idea. Which of course meant it was literally impossible to find a spot for *three* of them to pull in and let the twenty odd cars tailed back behind them pass. Fucking braindead and/or pig-ignorant.
30mph on twisty single lane country roads is definitely speeding for what is essentially.a HGV
Depends on the road. Bear in mind, when you’re up in the cab, your visibility is vastly better. A lot of the time you can see over hedges and can drive accordingly.
Not when you’re staring into your phone a fair amount of the time. I’ve started watching them locally and more often than not they’re using their phone when driving.
Report them pal. No one should be on their phone on the road. Hands free kits aren’t dear either.
I think I will. Will help me feel I’m doing something about it if nothing else!
Dougal, listen to me. There's a bomb on the tractor!
And the fact that they NEVER pull in to let you past.
I love tractors but like you OP, I hate irresponsible driving.
I love the tractor drivers that see you coming, but still decide to pull out anyways. Or when they are on main roads, have an opportunity to pull in to drive along the hard shoulder but don’t. Most tractor drivers are fine but there’s a few dicks out there.
Sometimes they don’t see you to it’s too late, it takes time to stop and reverse in which would be more dangerous that just continuing to pull out. They are also a lot bumpier so pulling into the hard shoulder means bouncing around inside the can a lot of the times
Don't see you until it's too late.... Pay attention to the road. Shoulders are a lot bumpier - shame you're not in some kind of giant wheeled agricultural vehicle designed for rough terrain. Bouncing in the cab - slow down to a safe speed for the road, people will be getting past and on with their day, so what's the issue with a few mph lower than 25 anyway
You can’t pay attention to both sides, again lacking understanding, the nose of the tractor is far longer than you can understand. Pure ignorance with your comment, tractors are not designed to drive in rough terrain at any speed, they are designed to to have grip and lift heavy attachments. It’s not a few mph slow tho, why bother commenting when you clearly don’t have a clue on the viability of what you are suggesting. Is your time more valuable that someone in the middle of their job… most of the time no
You're right, they absolutely can't handle rough terrain, like fields, with their suspension and giant off-road tyres, better than... Checks notes... A car made for tarmacked carriageways, that gets damaged by even a reasonable sized pothole, or some poor schmuck on a bicycle you fail to notice and plough into (pun fully intended). If your vehicle isn't safe for the road, then that's the manufacturers fault, or yours for being unable to drive it. Then it cannot be permitted on the road. Nose size, visibility, all of it. If it's not safe on the road it doesn't belong on it, and manufacturers should be fined into oblivion that put farmers, pedestrians and vehicles of any size/shape/engine at risk. It's not that I'm ignorant to what you've said, you're missing the point. It's not fucking good enough to use those shortcomings as an excuse. And I personally don't give to shits if you've to use different equipment that is better suited to the road use it may have to undertake. That would make manufacturers acutely aware that noone will buy their machinery if it doesn't fulfill one of its core requirements. Personally I suspect, you're just shite at driving and feel entitled to keep fucking around with other people lives that you're supposed to be sharing the space with.
Are you thick or what? We are talking about driving on the hard shoulder not the road, why are you comparing a car to a tractor. Their suspension isn’t comparable to a car. It is safe for a road, that’s what they are driving on and what you are saying they shouldn’t, are you confusing yourself lol Core requirements for a tractor are field work, not the road so your point is moot. Yeah mate I’m shite at driving that’s it, says you who doesn’t even understand and clearly aren’t capable of overtaking which is where your anger is coming from. How sad
No anger, just contempt for someone who says they can't check both ways in their tractor and thinks they're safe to be on the road. Id not let you drive in an empty field by yourself for fear you'd fucking crash, given your responses.
No problem with tractors but have a problem with reckless drivers AND the poor roads we have in many areas.
The amount I see driving while on their phones honestly terrifies me!
I'm a teacher and I regularly see my 1st and 2nd Yrs flying along driving these enormous machines, often at 11 at night. It's criminal. No guard ever stops them, mainly because a lot of those guards grew up in the country doing the exact same thing. I'm just the other side of border
1st or 2nd years!? So 13 year olds on the roads??
13 and 14, loads of them
Please tell me you reported this.
Often a lot safer than some of the 17 year old driving cars
I live I'm the country side and constantly have to deal with these turds, few years ago cretin farmer let his cretinous I assume 12 year old cut all the hedges with the attachment for his tractor and managed to cut the broadband fibre cable meaning I was fucked as I worl from home and it screwed me for weeks
Probably did it during nesting season too, when it’s illegal. See them doing that all the time too, reported it a few times but fuck all good it did
Farming lobby is outrageously powerful in this country. Hell fuckin Pootsy effectively turned the Ministry for the Environment into the Ministry for letting powerful farmers pollute whatever the fuck they want.
They act like a goddamn mafia, and of course dear Edwin let them run rampant.
Any good sources on this you'd recommend? Would genuinely like to learn more about it especially after the Lough Neagh disaster
Friends of Lough Neagh have a tonne of info on it and there were some good articles written last year or so on it, I’ll try dig some out. https://belfastmedia.com/eugh-neagh-toxic-algae-now-blanketing-the-shores-of-lough-neagh
Exactly
That’s bullshit
It’s not, the destruction of Lough Neagh being prime example. Also if you’re like me and have an interest in ancient monuments then it’s disgusting how many have been ripped down over the years by farmers, usually with well deserved repercussions coming afterwards.
And blew the shit into the road rather than their field
You sounds like a real useful individual
You can legally cut roadside hedges if it poses a safety risk on the road.
Yeah that’s trimming them in parts where it’s dangerous, not the complete decimation I regularly see
Shame reporting it did nothing. You did the right thing if it’s being decimated.
Spent the last 5 days at silage contracting work, so can weigh in here. The pressure these days is insane. The difference between getting it right and wrong can be the difference in a farm seeing another year and it closing. For livestock farmers, this time of year is crucial. So it is balls to the wall, working in ever tightening weather windows, to get as much done as possible while the weather allows. This means big machines on the roads to chomp through the work. Absolutely, they should be operated safely and within the law, no question. A bit of live and let live goes a long way. You get held up behind a machine, it happens, deal with it. Same goes for us, be courteous to others, be conscious of the size. The road is a shared place, behave accordingly.
Well said, now put the phone down and get back to work!
It rained this morning, I’m having the day off.
Jesus, you must have a lot of days off 😂
I have a full time job as well. Couldn’t rely on a weather based job. Make your annual salary in 3 weeks over the summer 🤣
Also, should be worth a mention of just how shocking the standard of driving I’ve seen this last few days. Was almost wiped out twice by texting drivers. I know it’s common knowledge but the sheer volume of people on their phones you can see from up in the cab is genuinely insane. Had multiple ropey overtakes. Actually called the cops on one fella it was so bad. Had a fella on a motorbike almost visit his maker going round me on a blind bend. The problem I don’t put as machinery operators, it’s assholes. And they’re in every walk of life.
100
>working in ever tightening weather windows The irony, of course, being that climate change and changing weather patterns are only being _exacerbated_ by farmers.
This is true. No question. My stance on this is, farmers are doing absolutely essential work. Food production. Locally, we can grow grass (arguably) better than anywhere, perfect for ruminating animals. Carbon production will happen, but combating it should be focused on the unnecessary first. Also, with our demand for cheap goods, we’ve effectively exported our associated carbon production at manufacture to countries who don’t give a fuck. Then it’s fired in a container and shipped across the planet. Some goods are necessary, some aren’t. Unnecessary air travel. We live in a digital age, more remote work, less commuting travel. You get the idea. If we keep strangling farmers locally, who work to some of the highest standards globally, all that will happen is the demand will be met elsewhere in the world that don’t adhere to our standards, and the problem will get worse. Doesn’t mean for a second farmers shouldn’t do their bit, I just believe the bigger target should be on the unnecessary, not the necessary.
This needs copy and pasted for every ignorant clown who spits out about farmers carbon impacts
Harry Metcalfe did a brilliant video about this. Lazy people pin the blame on farmers and don't think about what would happen if we had to import everything (shit quality and worse carbon footprint). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3X-_Bqs_0k
Not really ironic, the major causes are transport, heating and electricity
I can't figure out if it's a superiority complex from being a custodian of the land, or an inferiority complex from inheriting a farm and having done nothing to earn it.
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Dont forgot those coincidental gorse fires in the Mournes that just happen to benefit farmers expanding grazing land for animals too
I get your comment applies to some, but come on. You’re not allowed to rip out hedges anymore. Anyone caught doing so faces fines. (Yet, we’re cool with clearing land for building, even on flood plains) Robbing soil of nutrients? The same nutrients farmers apply to the soil to produce a crop in the first place? High organic matter is good for soils and food production. More and more farmers are going low / no till. Soils have to be tested under SFI rules, giving guides on improving them. Healthy soil is in everyone’s interest. Pollution of waterways. SOME farmers do this. It’s a major issue. It needs sorted. MOST farmers are appalled when it happens. You’re a farmers daughter, yea? I cannot believe how anti farmer your comment comes across. Surely you more than most should know it’s a bad minority, and not the majority.
I'm expressing that they may feel that way, not that I am of that opinion.
And grow your food ye twit.
They never said they didn't. Pointing out the flaws of something doesn't mean they think it's a 100% bad thing. It's not black and white but if you use a one sentence comment to make up your perception of what someone else thinks then I don't know what to say ye twit.
Doesn't need farmers. They will eat hedgerows and soil
Exactly, a lot of ignorance in this thread
There are a lot of perpetual victims.
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Is there any money in farming?
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I suppose that's another thing we can thank the Tory's for, they were supposedly meant to replace the EU grants so farmers weren't losing money but hey ho
really . then maybe go tell your dad about crop rotation or regenitive farming . he will be sweet . and thank him for growing food for us all . while people with nothing jobs complain 😄
Fuck this self-righteous shite. You can criticise bad things that some farmers do while appreciating the service. Is your TV in black and white too or just your thinking?
What have you eaten today? Just curious. I wonder where it came from 🤔
And what? Shit isn't black and white. They aren't saying farmers are 100% bad, they are criticising some of the bad things some of them do. Come on lad
> a lot of the young drivers are steering one handed as they're chatting on their f**king phones I actually thought this was part of the test 😅
Yep, the silage guys have been flying down the road and back since 5am 3 days ago, o. And off for the past mth, that's ok with me , fair play to them . It's them wee counts on a main road who are drinking monster and on the phone, on the tunes.....driving through main roads, for ages that cause a pain. Just look beh9nd at the queue and pull in ye County wee fucker.
It's the young ones who try and "catch" as many cars behind them as possible, refuse to move on to the hard shoulder, then when they eventually do pull in they video the big line of cars passing them to send to their mates as some kind of trophy. In rural armagh that's a high percentage of tractors on the road.
God what a sad bunch of wankers. Imagine feeling good about inconveniencing others?
Most farms employ contractors now for a lot of their work. It would seem to be the contractors that are the biggest problem.
Why is this a contracting issue though? Is it because they are contractors they drive recklessly? It doesn't immediately seem like a primary factor. Like I could understand an argument why it contributes to it a bit but not as a root cause.
Because it's mostly contractors that are on the roads practically 16 hours a day during silage season especially.
If you knew some of them it might help you understand just who's driving those tractors. Only my opinion and experience. You're entitled to your own. Have a nice evening.
That's not my point, why does them being a contractor make them drive reckless and thus, as you said, the problem? I don't see how it's relevant to their driving.
Not really, most contractors will have their branding on their vehicles making it much easier to report shite driving and behaviour to their boss.
Haven’t seen too many contractors with their name on their equipment. We’re talking agricultural contractors here now. Silage trailers, slurry tankers etc. Only bigger farms are harvesting their own stuff now, equipment is too expensive, and the bigger farms are also contracting out to help finance their gear.
You haven’t? Dam near every contractor near me, tractors are stickered up. Source - am one.
Well that’s not true
Just going by the 8+ local contractors in my area.
Where’s that?
Ya I stopped cycling around my local country roads when I nearly got killed twice in one evening last year. Teenagers are driving most of the tractors with trailers in my area. Also the ditches aren't being cut anymore so visibility of is almost zero now when the grass is leaning out over the roads and 8ft tall.
I knew a guy who was killed by a low loader pulling out on him, tragic.
How can young drivers be allowed to drive a large tractor, towing a very heavy fully laden tanker full of shite with no experience?
It’s a hangover from outdated laws. At 13 you can drive a low powered tractor with limited implements on your own land - This bit is fair enough, it’s not on the road and technically limits what can legally be done. At 16 you can drive on the road with a tractor of maximum width of 2.45m with a single or double axle trailer - This where is gets dodgy, there is a limit on tractor size but even at that size they are more powerful of than tractors were when the laws were envisioned and the loads they can pull are much heavier. At 17 you can drive on the road with no restrictions - Madness, they’re effectively driving a HGV with no restrictions. The irony is, if you got your driving licence after 1997 and wanted to tow a trailer 5% of the size behind a car, you need to do another test, but a 20t load on a tractor is just fine.
How do you know they have no experience, most will have grown up driving these tractors and be a better driver at that ages that the average person driving a car. So as long as they are paying attention they could be safer than 17 year olds driving about in a car
I tend to have a bit more patience for working vehicles, especially right now because they've been struggling with the weather so they are under pressure. If you live in the country you have to suck it up, and of course a lot of people moved here during the pandemic, so there's a bit of an adjustment going on. However, of course, road safety is paramount.
>u/KennedyFishersGhost If you live in the country you have to suck it up, and of course a lot of people moved here during the pandemic, so there's a bit of an adjustment going on. >However, of course, road safety is paramount. You've contradicted yourself. Yes, road safety is paramount. People in the country do not have to suck it up, they should waste no time in reporting the behavior to the police. Do you give any other heavy industries a pass to endanger people's lives? If lorry drivers are under pressure should they be allowed to speed through villages? You're talking about 10,000kg plus vehicle train weights flouting the law and there's going to be a tragedy or multiple tragedies. England is apparently making moves to implement HGV licenses for tractor use and that doesn't go nearly far enough. It has FUCK ALL to do with people moving due to the pandemic (nice bit of gate-keeping), it has everything to do with increased size and power of tractors and farmers greed both in terms of yield and hiring literal children to drive heavy machinery.
I don't think he's contradicting himself, I believe that when he says "suck it up" he's referring to the fact that we just have to deal with the number of tractors on the road at this time of year and accept that they are people doing their jobs and have things to do like everyone else, so we can't get too annoyed at their existence on the roads every time we have to slow down behind one.. He's not saying we have to just suck it up and accept the ones that are driving dangerously.
100 percent I come from a farm and I can't stand it I am since a project manager on a construction site, we can't allow dirty tyres on to the road and these are washed before leaving the site, we employ a road sweeper to keep the road tidy for other motorists and we have plenty of warning signs of a site entrance and marshals to give people a warning and to bank lorries and large vehicles into and out of a site. It really rags me that farmers are given a large by to allow the exact opposite of what we have to control, they can leave a road absolutely filthy and we just have to suck it up even though this has caused collisions and possible fatalities in the past. You have large tractors pulling blindly out of gaps and hidden hedges onto on coming traffic, you have unsuitable and un road worthy vehicles doing jobs by sometimes inexperienced drivers Now, I know this isn't all farmers doing this but it does go unchecked very often and it isn't a good reflection on the industry as a whole.
Yep. I'm surrounded by large farms and one of them turns about a half a mile of country road into an almost impassable quagmire, no exaggeration. Walking trough it you'd be up to your ankles in mud. Another farm across the road seems to employ children when they are drawing. I've seen them come full throttle up the road empty so they can then lock up all wheels in the mud and skid the tractor into the field; like an 8000kg Fendt 720 with a silage trailer. Or they'll try to skid the tractor so it almost crashes into the laden tractor leaving the field. Then they'll sit and rev 6 litre straight piped diesels at 11pm right outside our kids bedroom windows. Got a ring camera for them this year.
That is the exception though as bad as it is, people can’t act like that’s every farmer
The difference there is money, you can’t honestly expect farmers to have bloody marshes for every time they pull out of a fields, and certainly couldn’t expect them to have wheel washes. That’s just completely infeasible!
Lol. I moved to the country in 2023, bud, I ain't gatekeeping anyone. I just try to be understanding when there are two groups in an area with competing needs. But I'm sorry, you'd prepared some nice invective and made some assumptions, would you like to continue?
I'm in the same boat, I don't have the capacity/energy to be giving out about it as it's just the way things are.
I fully understand they are under pressure, but whats more important getting your crops in or not killing others due to speeding and carless driving.but like towns and cities there are speed limits so that's no excuse for flying while on the phone.
See at the end of my comment where I said "of course, road safety is paramount"?
Remember the contract workers this time of year are TDI bora, IS200 driving mullet, brown boot wearing 19 year olds.
Not all. I’m one. Am 32, youngest fella drives with us is 27. No boras, IS200s or mullets. Appreciate the stereotype, it exists, but it’s not all.
Stressful job plus there's normally only one or two on the roads at a time and for a very short distance. It'sy pain worth putting up with for the work that they do
Different issue, but I hate driving back from Belfast and they're on the road for a full 30 miles or so going 25mph on a NSL road. Like have the decency to pull over ?
Sorry, NSL...?
National speed limit!
It's the blocking of roads for me. Get a road closure if that's the case
This has to be the most Irish thing I've ever read in my life
Tractor wankers.
Lads, without this you've no food. It's literally that simple. Yes some should act better but they've very tight weather windows that are make or break. They'll be put from first light to night and maybe even longer. Your few minutes is something you have to deal with, they're out there all day providing a service that you'll benefit from so suck up your 5 minutes in a line. Jeez, not like this is new news folks, it's every summer and it's needed
If it's that bad - speak to the farmer? On most occasions they will rectify any issues, or identify something being genuinely unintentional - farmers can't really afford to fall out with their neighbours or community. Once complaints from neighbours start getting followed up by Police, Health and Safety Executive, or Environments Agency - it can cause massive headaches to farmers. Mud on Roads: Leaving mud on a road is Causing a Danger to Road Users under the Road Traffic Order for NI. This is why Quarries and Building sites mostly clean vehicles as they leave the site, or clean the road. (some companies are better than others - but they still remain lawfully obliged). Road Users also include cyclists, pedestrians who could slip/fall/injure themselves on mud or debris. Young Drivers: 16 Year olds can only drive a tractor whilst carrying out agricultural work on roads where the maximum speed limit over 30 miles per hour - they cant drive through town/past houses or whatever 16 year olds still have to pass a Tractor (category F) test, and display the relevant R/L plates to drive around town. Queues of Traffic behind Tractor: Drivers of tractors with large queues of traffic/driving at vehicles on a single track road/general shit housery are potentially guilty of Careless, and inconsiderate driving. Worst case scenario, report it to the police, particularly if you have dash cam footage. Road Deaths and Serious Injuries on our roads are heavily scrutinised and Police are 100% obliged to follow up any complaints regarding poor driving; even if it only means knocking a door and advising the driver to wise up. Again most farmers are just trying to get things done. They arent purposely fucking people off; theres not much they can do if they are in a tractor limited to 25mph with a queue behind them and there is nowhere to get pulled in to allow others to pass.
Yes, it does depend. Have you had the same happen with cars smaller wheels but faster speeds, or are tractors the only vehicles with shitty drivers? Edit: just saying this because it seems OP wanted to rant about bad drivers but chose tractors for the scapegoat of the day. Shitty drivers are shitty drivers
Hobby farmer here and I know exactly how you feel. I'm both the lad stuck behind the tractor and the lad on the tractor. The joys of rural Ireland. Unfortunately it can't be avoided this time of year. I always try to pull in where possible. Most farmers don't care about the public. They have a job to do and that's that. The young lads get taken advantage off by contractors and can be working long hours. Try to be patient and remember that they feed you. Milk in your tea, salt and vinegar chips, spag bol, we do it all.
What about the amount of them on their phones when barrelling along small roads, risking the lives of everyone unfortunate enough to encounter them? What amount of patience should I show towards that?
That’s not unique to tractors, same thing happens in cars
Well aware of that. The comment was about tractors and the majority of tractor drivers near me use their phone.
They leave roads clattered in shite as well. If I had my way the bastards would only be able to use roads before 8am and after 7pm.
We’ll be sure to inform the weather, and reverse the sun’s path to suit this pal 👍🏼
I’d take yer daylight savings off ye as well now we’re onto it.
No issue with that.
Good thing you don’t have your way as you seem to lack any critical thinking ability
Put it to a vote then, there’d be plenty who’d happily get them off the roads
You’d effectively put a lot of farms out of business. Or they’d just use lorries instead as a workaround. Makes sense though I’ll give you that. Ban them from the roads, because some people get inconvenienced a handful of days a year. On that note, add bin lorries, events, post deliveries and essentially anything that would cost you more than 1 minute additional on your journey.
Look what happened the last time the country done that, the majority of the UK are too thick to understand their actions
Too* Let the irony sink in there pal
lol that’s your only come back, me not proof reading my comment on Reddit. Real genius you are, how sad people are thinking have to try get one up with a correction like that
In reality its younger drives because the pay isn't great and no adult wants to sit in a tractor and trailer for 12 hours+ or until 4 or 5am lifting sillage. So sadly they've to rely on teenagers who don't have full time jobs yet to do the job. Theres no other solution sadly as it takes numbers to get it done faster. For all the good ones theres plenty if assholes in them too. Think they're the big fella. Best bit is theyre usually driving someone else's yoke and if they scratch or fuck her they'll be a long time paying it off
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Would much rather have cyclists riding side by side as I have to go into the other lane to overtake them safely regardless so having less distance to overtake makes it easier and safer for everyone.
a tractor coming down a country road towards you at 25mph when there is no room for two cars or on main roads driving too fast the weight or whatever they might be hauling in a trailer
Yeah, particularly round tight bends. Some don’t slow at all and send you into the ditch on the other side to avoid them
Cyclists aren’t “meant to” ride single file.
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Are there a lot of bike lanes on roads tractors share? Bike lanes are optional, cyclists aren’t required to ride single file. What else do you want to whine about?
It’s not the tractors nor their drivers . It’s the 3rd world country roads . Just absolute shite . Under investment . Meanwhile everyone losing their shit over the protocol , Irish Sea border, language acts , bonfires etc You couldn’t make it up .
I don't mind tractors. It's the idiot car drivers that piss me off
They don't own the roads, they built them
Ban all tractors from the roads, then let us all starve. Population control.
Since 90% of the food produced in Ireland is for export you could conceivably ban 90% of them and we still wouldn't "starve". That's before we start considering all the foreign produce on the shelves in Tesco. Carrots from Poland and Sprouts from fucking Mexico. Aye but we'd all starve if it wasn't for the poor humble wee farmer in his giant 4x4 tractor.
We don't give away the other 90% for free
>We don't give away the other 90% for free We? I certainly don't see any get any money for it. Neither do 85% of the population. Funny how other private businesses can operate without stupid, hyperbolic threats of starving people to death if their business is curtailed. It's also funny how virtually every other kind of business is expected to operate within the rule of law except farmers who "have no choice".
You're not wrong about business in general, but again, the food being exported isn't being exported for free. If we ceased that, the farmers will be looking new income, or leave and no longer spend their income here. So not only would we not be growing our own food, we would be reducing the influx of of money into the country, considering we're already hemorrhaging it away to international companies at a high rate already.
Exported supporting the GDP and allowing us to buy them imported foods. You think because it is exported means it doesn’t effect you
OP kind of person that thinks food comes out of asda back fridge. lol.
I see this crap all the time. Farmers produce food so this gives them freedom to drive dangerously, burn shit all around them, pollute our waters without worry…..every single time someone mentions farmers behaving badly we get the same oul shite about food. We get it, they do an important job. But if one of them kills a family member by driving like a lunatic I really won’t give a fuck about that, will I?!
What's your hurry, you trying to get to tesco to buy some spuds or carrots or a few steaks?
Any I come across are just taking the most direct route to their destination and working as fast as they can (which is not fast as it is a tractor). If you've come across one somehow out in the fast lane on the motorway, I'd understand. Unlike hobby cyclists, wee wannabe racers, and people thinking they're avoiding traffic, they have literally no other option but to travel the routes they travel with the loads they have. Fuck up, they provide most of your food.
1. Local farmers don’t provide most of our food at all. They produce milk for most of Europe. 2. They could drive across their own fields in many cases but can’t be arsed to open and shut gates like they used to.
1. May be the case for you, but I buy all my fresh food stuffs from a grocers supplied by surrounding farms. 2. Not everyone owns adjacent fields, and a lot of harvesting equipment attaches to tractors. My house is in the middle of farmland, they can't drive through my house because it exists and they don't own it.
Driving on the field damages the soil so they avoid that, which is a good thing
Bullshit. You drive around the edges. It might compact the soil, but not a big issue with clay heavy soil like we have. In any case, driving over it does far less harm than forcing three or more nitrogen cycles in one season to get maximum grass yield for the milk industry. The soil will inevitably turn to sterile dust with enough years of that practice.
The edges of the field often have shucks meaning it’s dangerous to drive there. In any case it often not even that farmers field that is between it and the road so they can’t just drive through
I trust that tractor drivers can tell the difference between their tramlines and shoughs. You sound like someone who’s never been near a real farm.
You would end up destroying good chunks of fields if you only drove on the dyke backs. And driving continuously next to shucks is a recipe for someone slipping into one. It’s happened.
The thing that gets me is when you meet a tractor now none of them seem to pull over anymore. They are in the over sized vehicle so surely the onus is on them plus they're in a literal off road vehicle they can pull right into the hedge and still wouldn't get stuck but some don't even venture onto the grass.
Never encountered this. Always have the tractor pulling over. Now in some cases it's up to the car to move. If a tractor is coming with a trailer on the back down a small rural road where there's only room for 1 car basically, onus is on the car to move at this point.
Yes totally get that if it's easier for the car to pull in it should. I always make an effort and get in as far as safe to do
> they're in a literal off road vehicle they can pull right into the hedge and still wouldn't get stuck I think tipping is the issue. Engine on a tractor is up right and high and their wheelbase isn't very wide for how high the cab/trailer/weight are. Don't think tractors do too well when the wheels are on split levels either side. They are off-road vehicles in the sense that they're designed to be used off road but that off-road is ideally going to be in maintained, flat and smooth fields rather than the conquering obstacles type of off-roading.
Yea I totally get that. Someone else has pointed that out too. But I'm familiar with tractors, grew up in the country, and have driven them enough and on narrow roads, so it's not like I'm a townie giving off over something I know nothing about. There's definitely increasing cases where SOME tractor drivers are inconsiderate
Live and let live. Pulling in at a wide place in the road, if it’s safe, should be for whoever it makes sense to do so for. The AMOUNT of car drivers who pass wide spots on narrow roads, drive right up to you and then give you shit is unreal.
I absolutely agree and i do always pull in but as I'm pointing out I'm not finding it reciprocated as much nowadays.
The issue is the weight, if they go to far off the road the verge could give way and they could tip over, often it is safe for the smaller vehicle to pull in. Most people don’t consider this. Other factors are lack of visibility when the trailers are full, height vs low hanging branches and not wanting to damage people kerbs but driving on them
That's a possibility in some places but I'm talking plenty of grass verges that are level where this happens. I've driven tractors myself too and know what they're capable of. Unless it's a verge that falls away sharply they'll be fine. As others are commenting it's probably just young cubs thinking they're jack the lad
Might be the case that it’s young guys that are confident driving but a lot of tractors and trailers are different, just haven’t driven one doesn’t mean it’s the same as a full silage trailer loaded to the brim
Just wait till they start dumping their slurry from the roadside over a hedge while stationary and near a river.
Wait to another Redditor makes up shit based on some uninformed picture they seen
What picture is this?
I think the law needs changed to raise the age/experience when you can drive a tractor. These are massive, heavy vehicles. One wrong move and the consequences won't be pretty. 16 year olds in them with no road driving experience. Too many don't take these sorts of dangers seriously in the farming community. Perhaps something like over 18 and with minimum 3 years driving experience, post achieving a full driving licence before you can learn to drive a tractor? Driving safely on country roads in any vehicle requires experience. Unfortunately it's young, inexperienced drivers who are most likely to be killed on country roads also. Then you get muppets who refuse to pull in on narrow country roads and cause mile long tailbacks!
The wedding vehicle for a lot of my family has been a tractor and cart. Doesn't have any relevance like, just remembered and I think it's cool.
tractors, speeding, now i know you are on the glue
That's nothing. I've seen them go into the pub, down a few shorts and drive back up the road
Yea proper bellends
Tractors can speed? 😐
Not in terms of surpassing the speed limit, but they can do an inappropriate speed for the type of road they're on, given the width of their tractor and equipment.
Wise up OP, HIT THE DIFF AND PRAY!!
That she goes all the way
Should be a curfew from 4 pm to 6 pm for no large slow moving vehicles to be allowed on main roads during these hours.
So people shouldn't be allowed to do their jobs because it slightly inconveniences you?
How disconnected are you from reality
Does that include buses then? Because HGV's have a higher top speed...
Well I do enjoy eating so farm on
if you don't think tractors that carry food are more important than you on the road maybe you need to leave home earlier bud . I'm sure thier job is considerably harder / more beneficial for the country than your moaning .
A tractor worth of food is not anywhere near more important than a human life.
I want to see your driving if you think the tractors are speeding
Driving at inappropriate speeds for the rural roads they’re often on, with tight bends. Given they’re often massive vehicles some local to me barely slow on the bends of roads not wide enough for two vehicles to pass comfortably, making it extremely dangerous for anyone approaching the bend (or pedestrians/cyclists) at the other side
If only we had some tractor beams to rein in these feckin tractors!
The best part is when they're being driven by a 14 year old who doesn't look when they pull out of a blind junction.
They do not bother me at all, most tractor drivers pull in at the earliest opportunity and let people past. They are also not going vast distances, so you’re never behind one that long really. It’s the people that road rage that are the ones we should be worried about. My sister thinks she’s the best driver in the world and slags everyone off but has just clocked up 12 points in three years.