The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is continuing to carry out roadside checks on tractors during the summer months and FCI member tractors have been subjected to tests.

When an FCI member was recently stopped by the Gardai and the RSA during a roadside roadworthiness test, he was told that because he was doing ‘commercial’ work that his tractor was required to have a DOE test.

After representation to the RSA it was confirmed to FCI that ‘Fast tractors used by agricultural contractors, providing services to farmers, horticultural, forestry and fisheries undertakings, provided the road haulage element is not the principle objective of the service provided by the contractor, are not within the scope of the tractor testing regulations.’

It also added that these contractor operations include by way of example, slurry spreading, silage and crop harvesting as the haulage element is secondary to the principle activity.’