Sharing the road with tractors

By the end of this topic you can

• You can recognise the warning signs that a slow farm vehicle is ahead.
• You can keep a safe gap behind a tractor and trailer.
• You can decide whether an overtake is safe, legal and necessary.
• You can predict a tractor turning into a field or yard.
• You can react safely to mud, spilled loads and wide machinery.

What you need to know and understand

• A flashing amber beacon warns you of a slow-moving vehicle ahead.
• Tractors must show full lights at all times on public roads, so lights in daylight do not mean an emergency.
• Farm machinery can be up to 3.5 metres wide, and some wider machines travel with an escort vehicle.
• Tractors are allowed on motorways if they can travel at and keep up at least 50 km/h, so you may meet one there too.
• A long tractor and trailer needs a lot of road to pass, so an overtake takes longer than you expect.
• You must never cross a continuous white line to overtake.
• A tractor driver's view behind is often limited by the trailer or load.

Spot it early, slow down early

Look well ahead for an amber beacon, mud on the road, open gates or farm entrance signs. Each one is a clue that a tractor may be on the road or about to pull out.

Closing speed is the danger. If you are doing 80 km/h and the tractor is doing 30 km/h, the gap shrinks very fast. Ease off as soon as you see it, rather than braking hard at the last moment.

Waiting behind a tractor

• Hang well back. A bigger gap lets you see past the trailer and gives you time if it stops suddenly.
• If you cannot see the tractor's mirrors, the driver cannot see you.
• Watch for stones, silage or mud falling from a trailer.
• Be patient. Many tractor drivers pull in to let traffic pass when they reach a safe spot.
• Do not follow another car's overtake blindly; make your own decision.

Overtaking: only when it is clearly safe

1. Ask whether you need to overtake at all. The tractor may turn off soon.
2. Check the road ahead is long, straight and clear, with no junctions, gateways, bends, hill crests or continuous white lines.
3. Look for signs the tractor is about to turn right into a field: slowing down, moving towards the centre, or a signal.
4. Check your mirrors and blind spot, signal, and move out with plenty of space.
5. Pass briskly but within the speed limit, leaving a wide gap, especially for wide machinery.
6. Return to the left only when you can see the whole tractor in your interior mirror.

Turning tractors and wide machinery

A tractor turning right into a narrow gateway may first swing left to get a wider angle. Do not take that as an invitation to pass on the right. Wait until the turn is complete.

When a very wide machine or an escort vehicle comes towards you on a narrow road, slow down early, move as far left as is safe, and stop in a wide spot if you need to. Never squeeze past on a soft verge or near a ditch.

Common mistakes

• Overtaking a tractor just before a gateway or junction. Tractors often turn right into fields.
• Sitting too close behind a trailer. You lose your view of the road and the tractor driver loses sight of you.
• Following another car through an overtake. The road may not be clear for two vehicles.
• Driving at normal speed through mud. Slow down; it can be as slippery as ice.

Test yourself: Sharing the road with tractors

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

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