Motorists advised to take extra care as harvest traffic volumes grow

MOTORISTS were again advised yesterday to take extra care until the end of harvest time due to the extra volume of farm traffic on the roads such as tractors, trailers, sprayers and harvesters.

Insurance company FBD added its voice to recent comments from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the Irish Farming Association (IFA) calling for vigilance on the roads.

Ciaran Roche, FBD safety and risk management surveyor, said every road user should be extra alert for large, wide and slow moving agricultural vehicles and machinery and ensure precautions are exercised when meeting such vehicles.

“Particular care must be taken on narrow winding roads as you never know what agricultural vehicle might be around the next corner. It is also essential that drivers are patient and that they wait until it is safe to overtake agricultural vehicles,” he said.

Mr Roche also reminded farmers and contractors that they must ensure that vehicles, machinery and trailers are adequately insured and maintained in a roadworthy condition, and in particular that lights, indicators, mirrors and braking systems are working properly.

“Safe access and egress from all farmyards and fields must be ensured to avoid road traffic accidents. In addition, operators must be careful not to drag muck onto the public road as this may cause vehicles to skid, lose control and/or overturn.

“All agricultural vehicle operators should be competent, and must be 16 years-of-age or over and hold at least a provisional driving licence before they can drive on the road or in a public place, and passengers should only be carried where a passenger seat is provided,” he said.

IFA president Padraig Walshe had already urged farmers to be safety conscious whenever bringing a farm vehicle onto the public road.

RSA chief executive Noel Brett advised farmers not to load trailers in such a way that it would make it unstable on the road, and to be aware of low bridges, overhanging trees, overhead cables and uneven road surfaces which could cause the load to shift and overturn.