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Operating tractor on roads

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RJC
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2001-02-14          24229


Would anyone know the rules for operating a compact tractor on public roads? Preferably Maine law, but a general idea of other locales is fine. I know about the SMV emblem but cannot find anything about distances one can travel and any registration requirements.Thanks



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Murf
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2001-02-14          24231


Other than the SMV, and obvious limits as to lighting, length, width, and weight that apply to ANYTHING on the road, the only real restrictions that I have seen anywhere are basically the 'rule of common sense'. There are obvoius exceptions of course, I'm sure we all heard about the 80+ year old man who drove his 18hp JD lawn tractor 750 miles to visit a dying friend two years ago (who by the way made quite a bit of money thanks to the clever marketing gurus at JD). Check with your local police or DOT, I'm sure they can set you straight. Best of luck. ....


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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
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2001-02-14          24232


I agree with Murf. Since I was a big city cop instead of state patrol or rural officer, I didn't have occasion to be concerned with the topic of tractors on roads much, but awhile back I did a little checking on the State of Texas web site and there are hundreds of sections of the traffic code that mention tractors and agricultural equipment (lots of technicalities of course), but I think what it boils down to is have the SMV, don't go over 25 mph, don't drive drunk, have lights on the tractor, and stay off the Interstate, and you can do darned near anything you want to. LOL As a practical matter, I've never known of an officer stopping a tractor on the road for anything (although I'm sure it must have happened at times somewhere). ....


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Larry in MI.
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2001-02-14          24235


Michigan law is much like Bird stated about Texas. I am a State Patrolman (but only for the next 7 months)and I have stopped tractors mostly for a lack of SMV signs. I did arrest one tractor driver for drunk driving. It was his third offense and he went to prison. It's really difficult to get a beligerent drunk on a tractor to stop! ....


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Robert Weiler
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2001-02-14          24236


Here in Tennessee, what with all the farms if we couldn't drive tractors on the blacktop, we'd be in a world of hurt. SMV & lites are the only requirements we have. My boomer has orange flashers I use too. Good Luck.
Bob ....


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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2001-02-15          24252


It's not a rule, but I thought about a rear view mirror. I travel 10 miles on a major 2-lane highway that carries a lot of wide-load transport traffic. I have to go back and forth between gravel shoulders and the pavement, because the shoulders are often eroded. I think it's unrealistic to expect a loaded transport to accommodate a 12mph tractor on the pavement--SMV sign or not. With hills and curves--that's just an accident waiting to happen. So, I keep careful track of traffic overtaking me and make sure that I am able to take to the shoulder. I also suspect that two wide-load transports from opposite directions and me wouldn't fit on the road at the same point on some bridges. So, I make sure that I'm not going to be on any bridge along with several transports. Anyway, my highway driving takes a lot of looking front and back. Sometimes I think my head is swiveling around like some guy getting beaten-up in a martial arts movie. A rear view might help.

The thing to recognize here is that loaded transports don't exactly stop on dimes. You have to assume that transport drivers will recognize situations that may become accidents and take appropriate action. However, it's best not to put a transport driver, or any other driver for that matter, in a position of having to avoid a tractor. The rules may give me the right, but I just don't want to depend on a SMV sign to insure my life and limb. An even better solution might be to find a route of snowmobile trails and old logging roads that would keep me off the highway.
....


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Bird Senter
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2001-02-15          24253


TomG, even though I normally only drive my tractor on farm to market and county roads, that's exactly the reason I put a rear view mirror on my tractor; didn't have one on the last tractor and sure got tired of turning back and forth trying to keep a watch out for traffic coming from behind. ....


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dsg
Join Date: Jun 1999
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2001-02-15          24262


RJC, I'm retired from Hancock Cty. Sheriff's Dept. As you know living in Maine, this is a rural area and the only thing I can think of off hand is the SMV sign. One should have lights but there are numerous older tractors around here without them, If not driven at night it's ok, stay as far to the left as practial. Of course, as all the other posters have said, common sense goes a long way. David ....


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dsg
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2001-02-15          24263


RJC, sorry for the second post. (forgot) Go to the link below it will help.
Most of these type of Laws are covered under Title 29A, Section 1900 and up.
David ....


Link:   

Click Here


 

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KlayW in MI
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2001-02-15          24269


Larry in MI, e-mail me, I wanna know if you are in the 6th district? ....


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RJC
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2001-02-16          24277


Thanks for the response everyone, I've been told a few different things by folks around here,from only field to field (a local PD) to unlimited distance(an old farmer). I'll look thru that link, thanks ....


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TomG
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2001-02-17          24304


I'm guessing that the truth is somewhere between those two extremes. However, there should be a distinction made between road rules and fuel rules. The rules for being on public roads while using off-road fuel are probably more stringent than the road rules—the fines are larger too. In general, I don't think tractors are supposed to be used for general transportation on public roads in most places, but there may not be specific laws in place. For example, a guy around here used to take a riding mower across a long one-lane bridge to visit friends in a town across the river. He blocked traffic from both directions while he put-putted across the bridge. Police made him stop doing it. There probably isn't a specific law, and the police may have had a different attitude if he was hauling a trailer of bales or firewood. Anyway, there's the rules and police interpretation of the rules. I tend to pay more attention to police interpretations than the rules themselves. Police interpretations usually add to my common sense, while the rules may not. Since my common sense should now be in high gear, I guess I should figure out if I have any liability insurance if I’m ever in violation of the road rules. ....


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Bird Senter
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2001-02-17          24306


TomG, you're right. At least technically, it would be illegal to use your tractor or lawnmower on a public road just for transportation (unless it had a license plate, state safety inspection sticker, liability insurance, etc. etc.), but of course unless it was done frequently, someone complained, or something like that, I think it's highly unlikely (at least in my area) that an officer would stop a tractor to investigate the purpose of the trip. ....


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JeffM
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2001-02-17          24314


Speaking of tractors on the highway for non-farm uses: when I was 14 I boarded at my uncle's dairy farm (3 hours from my home) for the summer and worked the fields with him. We cut hay on some leased land 10 miles away and I was used to making that trip over the backroads and a highway with his tractors. I also developed a crush on a 16 year-old girl in town who at least tolerated me like a cute little puppy (which I was). Come September I went back home, but I visited my uncle at Thanksgiving. I begged him to let me take a tractor to town to visit my "friend". He smiled wisely and asked if I was sure that was a good idea. Oh yeah, I was sure that it was. Off I went. I learned two important lessons that day: 1) a 14 year-old puppy on a Farmall 400 can't compete with a 17 year-old football star in a Camaro. In fact, looks foolish even trying. 2) driving an open tractor 20 miles (round-trip) in late November on the Canadian border of NY can get cold. Real cold. (My uncle still thinks it was funny.) ....


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TomG
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2001-02-18          24334


Yeah Jeff. I think we all remember those sorts of lessons--fortunately puppyhood doesn't last too long--at least for those who learn the lessons. We're in the Upper Ottawa Valley, probably not far away. Cold and open tractors I understand. Twenty miles? I get enough lessons snow blowing 300' of drive in a wind. Bird's growing season is what's hard to understand when you're still looking at ice fishing huts on the river for another 5 or 6 weeks. ....


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Scott S.
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2001-02-19          24396


I have a JD4100 that I was always a little reluctant to drive along the road, always aware that, technically, it should be registered as a farm vehicle to be operated legally. And for the most part, I rarely drive it more than just a few houses down the road, or at most, around the block. But at the same time, I realize that in my 16 years as a police officer in the same suburban community, I've never once stopped anyone else for doing just that, nor would I. Guys (or gals, of course) driving down the side of the road on a tractor simply draw no attention. Why should they, if being operated in a reasonably intelligent manner? Of course, if you DO have an accident or cause one, then remember that actions have consequences! Even if not your fault, you'll still at the least get a ticket, not to mention liability issues with the other motorist's insurance company. ....


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JeffM
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2001-02-20          24434


As I just learned, your insurance company may or may not cover your tractor if it is operated on a public road, depending on their policies and your state/local laws. This is an important item to check, I think. ....


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turfman
Join Date: Mar 2007
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2001-02-20          24448


This is funny...I live in Iowa. Last year I was stopped by a local cop while driving my 4400JD down the street. I had a SMV, flashers and even an extra amber flasher on the ROPS. Anyway, this guy did a u-turn to stop me. He was telling me that it was illegal to transport my tractor this way. My response was that I had done it for 40 years and never been stopped before. As he tells me that he will write me up if he catches me again a friend of mine that is a state trooper goes by and stops. He asks the cop what I did wrong, the two of them go into a huge argument over it and then even went so far as to call a Judge about it. Now as I understood the judge he said I was ok. I thought that the guns were coming out during the argument. The trooper said it had nothing to do with us being friends, it was the pricipal he was after and he knew he was right. LOL ....


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JeffM
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2001-02-20          24451


Turfman, you're right, that was funny. Now the big question is: "Has the local officer seen you on the road since?" ....


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Murf
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Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2001-02-21          24484


Jeff, the REAL big question was did you ever get anything but 'wiser' from that young lady??? LOL.... And if so was it worth it? Thanks for lightening up my day! ....


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JeffM
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2001-02-21          24494


Murf, you actually made me blush! Doesn't happen too often, either. No, all I got was wiser, and at the time it sure wasn't worth it, but accumulated wisdom pays off in the long run. I'm still laughing about how foolish I looked (and felt) that day. BTW, about 10 years after that incident I ran into that gal at a diner and didn't even recognize her. By that time I was a hot-shot young electrical engineer who travelled all over the country trouble-shooting big gas turbine engine-alternators. And was still a batchelor. She had been married twice already, had 2 or 3 kids, had gained about 50 pounds, and was waiting tables at night to help make ends meet. Makes you wonder, huh? ....


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