by in News
March 30, 2021
Tractor Maintenance

Maintaining their tractors and machinery is a way of life and something that professional agricultural contractors do as a matter or course. They cannot afford to for machinery to be out of service for any length of time, so making sure they are maintained to the highest standards ensures they can be utilised to the optimum extent. However, it has been reported to me that there is an increasing visibility of farm tractors travelling on the public highway that are quite obviously not fit (or safe) to be used on private land, let alone on the public highway. Personally I’ve seen tractors with no lights or broken lights, no wing mirrors, missing wipers, no glass in the windows and missing doors, not to mention bald tyres and the fact they are towing questionably safe trailers.

In the absence of compulsory testing for tractors, there is a moral responsibility and duty of care to ensure that it is roadworthy. It is simply not good enough to take a tractor onto the road and drive slowly in the hope it will be able to stop quickly. Taking a leaf from the contractors book, regular basic maintenance must be carried out on brakes, tyres, lights and steering to make sure they are working properly and wing mirrors, guards, steps and windows should be intact. Stay Safe this summer and don’t put your life and the lives of others in danger. Carry out regular maintenance; just because a tractor is old does not mean it cannot meet good safety standards if it is well maintained.