You "Road" Your Tractor?

[paulsharvey]

Not very related, but we also have a Honda Pinoneer 700 sXs; that is illegal on the road, but drive it on around a fair bit. Son got pulled over on it more than once, and warned about driving it on road. What I don't understand, it's a heck of a lot safer than a motorcycle, keeps up with traffic (max running speed is 43mph, but I think ours runs 49mph with the slightly larger tires), has roll cage, break lights, and theoretically, seat belts. I told son, if he gets pulled over, tell the cop your running to grandma's work fix a fence, and it's ag use.

 

[etpm]

I called the Washington State Patrol about driving my tractor on the road and the guy I spoke to told me it had to have the safety triangle thing on the back and I could only travel about 1/4 mile from one driveway to the next along my contiguous property. I asked the guy about all the tractors and other related equipment I see driving on county roads that were not going only 1/4 mile. He told me they were all breaking the law. Somehow I think the guy was full of it.
Eric

 

[dj1701]

I used to work at the Lewiston bridge in Lewiston NY. If you were going to export a self-propelled vehicle to Canada in the port of Buffalo, you had to do it there. Mostly, we would get cars, trucks, and heavy machinery on flatbeds. One day this young Canadian gentleman showed up with a tractor. Now to export it you had to go out and verify that the vehicle matched the paperwork we had. Well, it was a tractor all right, but one of those really big one's with 8 tires. I don't recall the make, but I think it was a dark green.
Anyway, we asked him where he bought it. He said he bought it in Pennsylvania. So how did you get it here? He said he drove it.

From Lewiston NY to the Pennsylvania line is 122 miles. I don't know where in PA, he picked it up, but that was amazing. He said he took the back roads and was never stopped by the police.

 

[Hay Dude]

I called the Washington State Patrol about driving my tractor on the road and the guy I spoke to told me it had to have the safety triangle thing on the back and I could only travel about 1/4 mile from one driveway to the next along my contiguous property. I asked the guy about all the tractors and other related equipment I see driving on county roads that were not going only 1/4 mile. He told me they were all breaking the law. Somehow I think the guy was full of it.
Eric

He’s FoS.
I have found a lot of cops know less about traffic laws than the average truck driver.

Lots of em cant shoot worth peanuts, either

 

[rockinbbar]

He’s FoS.
I have found a lot of cops know less about traffic laws than the average truck driver.

Lots of em cant shoot worth peanuts, either

 

[Wagtail]

I sure do... I've even driven it through town (St Helens) on the way to a haying or slashing job or on the "Tasman Highway" (posted @ 100KPH) around Pyengana during haying season.

SMV triangle prominently displayed, hazard lights and an amber 'whoop-whoop' flashing. I'll pull over when safe to do so to let any traffic through, of course.

By law, here, as long as you're within 15km of "where it is garaged", you don't need to have a license plate on it either.

 

[JCoastie]

Not very related, but we also have a Honda Pinoneer 700 sXs; that is illegal on the road, but drive it on around a fair bit. Son got pulled over on it more than once, and warned about driving it on road. What I don't understand, it's a heck of a lot safer than a motorcycle, keeps up with traffic (max running speed is 43mph, but I think ours runs 49mph with the slightly larger tires), has roll cage, break lights, and theoretically, seat belts. I told son, if he gets pulled over, tell the cop your running to grandma's work fix a fence, and it's ag use.

Lucky here, we're pretty rural, and I've passed by cops on the road going the other way while waving, and they haven't cared .... yet.
They certainly could, but so far have not. It's usually just me and the dogs out for a spin.

 

[JethroB]

This thread brings up some memories from my youth. We had an old neighbor down the road that was a WWII combat vet. He had his share of driving problems with a truck, and ultimately lost the right to drive one. He could still drive a tractor though, and I'd routinely see his small one parked at bars and stores up to about 10 miles away. He managed to get everywhere he wanted to go and kept doing it that way for about 2 decades.

The PTSD and alcohol made him a bit of a legendary character to those of us that grew up nearby. I'll always remember the warnings about where "they like to hide and shoot from". He still lived on his family farm with no indoor plumbing when he passed away around Y2K.

I knew a kid who often drove his dad’s Massey Ferguson 135 to school on occasion. 10 miles or so each way. He had a smart mouth along with the “little dog” complex and kept getting booted off the school bus for fighting.

 

[SmallChange]

The whole question of legality seems a bit loose. I live in Maryland, and in researching it what I came up with is that it's only legal to road a tractor is if it's for the purpose of agricultural business. But I also get the idea that, unless you're doing something foolish or get into an accident, police won't bother you. As to accidents, I don't know what the police would do, but I do know that when I checked with my insurance company they told me I'm covered driving my tractor on the road. I don't even remember if it was home or auto insurance that would cover me (I have both types with the same company for a discount).

I'd be willing to road mine for a mile or two, but I'd be extremely careful and fussy about doing it -- red triangle and lights and seatbelt fastened (always is anyway), and very defensive driving. The only time so far I did try to road it, to a filling station about a mile away on country roads, I started in too high a gear and couldn't get up a hill in a blind area, and it was most unnerving; since then I took various measurements and experimented and determined that my top two gears out of twelve are too high, but the next one would work. Besides, I would leave as much weight at home as I could.

 

[rockinbbar]

Darkness caught me putting out hay for cattle with a 10 mile drive home...

Had to turn on my Christmas lights before heading out.

I just feel better, whether daylight or dark, with some good flashing lights on the back.