Road Rules, Farmers targeted... again.

[superquag]

Had an irate call from a Farmer friend tonight. Apparently NEW, IMPROVED Rules on farmers moving wide loads on / across public roads has just been dropped onto them. - Effective Dec 1, loads - read 'Harvesters" and disc ploughs exceeding 3.7m will MANDATE an accredited, trained and, wait for it.... Personally signed off / APPROVED by the Commish of Coppers himself, Oversize-Load Pilot... for a FEE.
This includes merely across a road... or a few metres down there. Or...

Under 3.7m and Farmer can do it as is current practice, using appropriate signage and OFL - Orange Flashing Lamp(s) and save a bundle... only to be paid to the 'Pilot' when it's larger.. Most Harvesters are around 4+ metres, even with the comb ( wide front thingy) on tow behind.

- Coming when harvesting is ramping up can only mean the exerci$e is... Revenue Raising to fund the State Gov. deficit.

Whether or not this is to bring WA into line with E/States road regs is beside the point. Timing could not be more disruptive and expen$ive.
it would have been better if the car driving population was educated on what a Big Bright Orange Flashing Light means....

Net result is an annoyed rural population, - and a Top Cop with writer's cramp.[bigsad]

SuperQuag, '95 Classic with working EAS, The Lady Sarah, gone to a loving family...

[p38arover]

Will there be enough pilots to go around?

Hey, wasn't BMKal a pilot at one time? More work for him.

[Ausfree]

As if the farmers haven't got enough to put up with now. Revenue raising is all that it is.:no2:

[Lotz-A-Landies]

It's "Jobs and Growth" they've trained al the baristas we need and same with traffic lollipop operators. The Government's next growth industry is harvester pilots.

We've got to have new industries to employ people now that mine diggers and dump trucks are all robots and we don't manufacture anything anymore so any non productive job that doesn't cost the Guvment is O.K. by them.

[weeds]

I have a good mate that is a primary producer and come across plenty of farmers moving their gear from paddock to paddock....

and sometime you come around a bend @ $1.10 and go holly ****...but they are farmers and I’m more than happy to hit the picks and have the odd fright to wake me up, give them space and time than I’m on my way.

In saying that have a look at all the threads on here about caravaners, bike riders, truckies, pedestrians wearing earphones etc etc annoying the impatient motorist......and than throw in insurance, liability etc etc it was only time until farmer fell into the cross hairs.

[trout1105]

If you are driving through the Bush at harvest or seeding time you expect to be confronted with farm machinery on the road from time to time because that's just the way it is.
These Blokes are just trying to make a living and the reality of it is that it is necessary to move from paddock to paddock to put a crop in or take it off and in many cases it requires using the roads that split the property.
In 99% of cases there is already a vehicle in front and behind the machinery to warn other road users in these moves and having to have an accredited pilot to do these moves is simply ridicules as you would have to have one of these pilots on stand by 24/7 because there is No way that these machinery moves can be predicted accurately.

[Eevo]

4 thoughts

- we should give farmers a break
- its a big vehicle and they shouldn't get special concessions
- it's more or less unenforceable.
- would the cost be a tax write off?

[JDNSW]

4 thoughts

- we should give farmers a break
- its a big vehicle and they shouldn't get special concessions
- it's more or less unenforceable.
- would the cost be a tax write off?

Rural dwellers for many years have been saddled with rules designed for cities. A lot of these are widely ignored because they are largely unenforceable, but occasionally a farmer is fined for breaching one. I am reminded of a near neighbour of mine who was moving his ute and trailer from one paddock to another, about 20m between gates, not even on the bitumen or the road embankment. Pulled up by a passing policeman, and ended up being fined for failing to carry his licence. The driver was somewhat elated by the fact that, obsessed with the lack of a licence, the plodder failed to notice the trailer was unregistered.

The cost would certainly be a tax writeoff, but bear in mind that to do this you actually have to have a taxable income - and probably 50% of farmers, and an even higher proportion of harvest contractors operate in the red for more years than they make a profit.

[Chops]

Its a problem with everybody being in a hurry these days,,, to busy and to selfish, not wanting to take responsibility to help others at all, to take a little time out to let the big guns through.

I wonder how it would work for those that have multiple headers working one farm,,,
I reckon one of the best sights I've ever seen was up near Balranald stopping to let 5/6 of these units go past with a few trucks and utes with them,, and then to top it off, two days later we watched the same guys running in sequenced line through the paddock,,, awesome stuff.

[rick130]

In NSW you need 'conditional' registration just for your quad or tractor to cross the road from one paddock to another.
A PITA but everyone is covered in the case of an accident.
The ex's family farm we ran years ago we never bothered as it was a little used dirt road cutting the property in half, only the neighbours, cattle trucks at sale time and the postie (until the service was dropped) used it, but in theory all three tractors should've been registered.

[350RRC]

Conditional reg for my Deutz is only about $80 per annum. Covers 'going from paddock to paddock', doesn't really specify whose paddock.

Sometimes drive it 5 k's into town to fuel up.

I don't use the 165 much anymore so I might as well sell it, even though It is a beautiful thing. She's called Perkins.

DL

[Wraithe]

Give me an accredited pilot that can do a proper job and i'll show why he has no time for anymore work...

Here in WA, they go through a course on being a pilot, get there ticket and think they know more about driving a wide load than the operators that have being doing this work for more than 20 years...

Most farmers wives are better at escorting a load than some of the ones that have there ticket and going down the highway...

I presume somebody was being stupid and not considering others, thus someone got hurt... So now they are jumping up and down again...

Next there will be no night movement for farmers too...

[BMKal]

Will there be enough pilots to go around?

Hey, wasn't BMKal a pilot at one time? More work for him.

Haven't done it for quite a few years now Ron. Even gave away my roof sign / flashing lights etc to one of the neighbours whose daughter has taken to the road a year or so back.

But I remember that there was a push to bring in these rules on farmers quite a few years back when I was doing the job. It was pushed by the Perth based "Pilots' Association" leadership and yes - it was nothing more than another way to guarantee these parasites more work. The same people even tried to push for another "elite" class of pilot over here to replace Police Escorts on the really big loads - with membership to this "special" group granted only to their clicky little group. Fortunately these arseholes never got their way, and most if not all eventually fell by the wayside as most trucking companies woke up to them and stopped using their services. I got out of the game at around that time partly because I just couldn't be bothered dealing with the *******.

[BMKal]

Give me an accredited pilot that can do a proper job and i'll show why he has no time for anymore work...

Here in WA, they go through a course on being a pilot, get there ticket and think they know more about driving a wide load than the operators that have being doing this work for more than 20 years...

Most farmers wives are better at escorting a load than some of the ones that have there ticket and going down the highway...

I presume somebody was being stupid and not considering others, thus someone got hurt... So now they are jumping up and down again...

Next there will be no night movement for farmers too...

Yep - some of the brainless ***** I see out there piloting oversize loads these days makes me very glad I got out of the game years ago. [bigsad]

Queensland used to have the best law (many years ago) - in that you could not get a licence to "pilot" a load unless you also held the appropriate licence and experience to "drive" the load. Made sense to me - but they eventually dropped their standards to those of the other states.

[Chops]

So, looking through some of these answers etc, is, or could it be a worthwhile ticket to obtain for someone to have whilst on a loooong tour around the country ?
How would one go about getting licences for it?

[Wraithe]

Yep - some of the brainless ***** I see out there piloting oversize loads these days makes me very glad I got out of the game years ago. [bigsad]

Queensland used to have the best law (many years ago) - in that you could not get a licence to "pilot" a load unless you also held the appropriate licence and experience to "drive" the load. Made sense to me - but they eventually dropped their standards to those of the other states.

Where you on the road during the 80's?

My mother started off in about 81' and eventually started her own business...

Dot Webber was her name, passed away 4 years ago....Her first car was called "Desert Rat"... and she used to run into QLD for a company near Beudesert...

[Wraithe]

So, looking through some of these answers etc, is, or could it be a worthwhile ticket to obtain for someone to have whilst on a loooong tour around the country ?
How would one go about getting licences for it?

Get some experience with trucks first, so you know what its like to get around corners, what to watch for when going down the road and of course, how much warning another vehicle needs when out on the open road...

All very well driving along with pretty lights and all the fancy stuff on a vehicle but its what is coming towards you that counts and what you need to tell the operator thats following....

[BMKal]

Where you on the road during the 80's?

My mother started off in about 81' and eventually started her own business...

Dot Webber was her name, passed away 4 years ago....Her first car was called "Desert Rat"... and she used to run into QLD for a company near Beudesert...

I think I might have heard of your mother, but don't remember ever meeting her. I was in the job a bit later than in the 80's. Worked for a couple of trucking companies around Kalgoorlie for a while before eventually spending most of my time with Phil Reimers and others at West Coast Heavy Haulage before he sold it all and moved back to Queensland.


Get some experience with trucks first, so you know what its like to get around corners, what to watch for when going down the road and of course, how much warning another vehicle needs when out on the open road...

All very well driving along with pretty lights and all the fancy stuff on a vehicle but its what is coming towards you that counts and what you need to tell the operator thats following....

Somehow, I think that Chops might just know a little about trucks already .......... [wink11]