Theory book category TM - Section 4

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Section 4
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Cat. TM - Section 4

Section 4

Driving on bumpy roads

Not all roads are created equal, and if you drive at high speed on bumpy roads, you run into several different problems. First and foremost, the risk of the tractor bouncing so much that you lose traction and lose control. The tractor can become so unsteady that you can't grab the brake and clutch quickly enough and things can go wrong.

The coupling to the trailer can be subjected to such high impact or twisting forces that it breaks down. Also keep in mind that the entire trailer and its load will become so unstable that the load may slip or be dropped. Check the trailer and load regularly and adjust your speed to suit the road conditions.

Driving in rain and fog

A large proportion of tractor driving takes place during the dark and rainy part of the year, which means that the number of traffic accidents increases significantly.

Greasy roadways and poor visibility from the tractor due to raindrops and dew on the windows are the main elements of accidents. Change wiper blades often and keep the windows as clean as possible. The warmer the air in the cab, the less dew settles on the windows, so it's important to ensure good ventilation and run the defroster as often as possible. Also remember to keep your mirrors clean.

In the dark, the light cones from the tractor and other vehicles will be reflected from the wet roadway without providing full benefit. On the contrary, visibility is disturbed by all these confusing light effects.

It is therefore necessary to keep your speed appropriately low and remember that you should always be able to stop on the section of road you can see illuminated in front of the tractor.

The same principles apply when driving in fog or other inclement weather such as snow.

Never speed faster than you can react and stop for natural obstacles on the visible part of the road.

Slippery and muddy road.

Driving in slippery conditions

When the tractor drives on the road, its heavy weight will press the wheels hard against the road surface. The tires will press so hard against the road surface that the rubber is deformed and pressed hard into all the small bumps in the road. This contact between the rubber and the asphalt is called "grip" and is used when we start driving, steering and braking.

There is good grip between a good tire and a dry asphalt surface.

There is poor traction between a worn tire and water, snow, ice, slush, soil, oil, dirt and debris that may be on the road.

You'll immediately experience problems with starting, steering and braking.

If you're braking down a steep, slippery hill, the grip can be so poor that you can't even slow down.

In slippery and greasy conditions such as snow, slush and ice, you can expect to have a braking distance that is significantly longer than normal, and on ice layers it can be up to 8-10 times longer than on dry asphalt.

Steering failure: Steering capabilities are reduced accordingly. During fast steering wheel movements, sharp turns, driving too fast through a curve and other situations, the front wheels can lose traction and slide across the road.

Skidding: When driving through corners, on sloping roads, over bumps, rear wheel lock during braking, when accelerating and in other situations, the rear wheels can lose traction. This initiates a skid with the rear end, which can easily result in the tractor continuing forward with the rear end in front. If all 4 wheels are blocked during braking, the vehicle will be completely out of control, completely subjected to the forces to which it is subjected.

How do you know it's smooth?

Rain, snow, frost and ice are obvious warnings. The insidious and dangerous thing is that slippery roads can appear suddenly and seemingly without warning.

When driving on a dry and good road surface, you need to be alert as soon as you notice changes in road and roadside conditions.

If the road surface changes, you should expect the possibility of slipperiness. Some road surfaces retain cold longer or give off heat faster than others. They can therefore be slippery and wet, while other road surfaces are de-iced and dry. Bridges often ice over faster than regular roadways because the cold can attack from both above and below.

Changes in the environment, shade, shelter, forest or valley lowering can cause moisture to be retained longer or ice and snow not to be melted away by the sun, so that the slippery surface is retained longer than in open terrain.

At temperatures around the 0-point, grip conditions vary greatly. A thin sheet of water of no particular significance can suddenly turn into a skating rink. Supercooled rain can turn to ice the moment it hits the road surface.

Wet leaves and soil spills can cause a greasy road surface with reduced traction. A dark spot on the road surface could be oil spillage.

So you need to pay attention to the road and its surroundings at all times.

Avoidance technique

Of course, the best way to avoid an icy road accident is not to put yourself and your tractor in a situation where you need to brake hard or turn the steering wheel abruptly, but even the best tractor driver can get into an unpleasant situation.

Basic rules for driving in slippery and oily conditions

First and foremost, keep your speed appropriately low so that you have adapted to the increased danger possibilities.

Next, it's important to plan your driving so that you have the best chance of avoiding dangerous situations. Keep a good distance from other road users, look far ahead and adjust your speed and position to any obstacles in good time. Avoid slowing down too suddenly and give other road users the necessary warning by signaling in good time. Operate the tractor in a controlled and gentle manner to avoid using the traction to its limits.

Brake without locking the wheels

Operate the steering wheel smoothly and do not try to force the vehicle into sharp turns. When starting and changing speeds, operate the clutch and accelerator with restraint. When driving uphill, do not downshift any further than necessary to protect the engine. Low gears increase the risk of wheel spin and loss of traction.

Avoidance maneuver

If you brake so hard that the wheels lock and the tractor slides towards an obstacle and you can see that you cannot stop before reaching the obstacle, release the brake to gain full steering ability and then steer around the obstacle to the side where you "land softest".

Scissor accident

"Scissoring" means that the tractor and trailer bend sideways together (see picture).

This happens most often on a downhill slope, where it's also quite slippery or greasy. A heavily loaded trailer will push the tractor while braking, and if you brake too hard and the tractor wheels lock, the trailer can actually push the tractor across the road and even tip it over.

Scissor crashes are avoided this way:

1) Avoid overloading the trailer.

2) Steer straight down the hill.

3) Brake only very lightly.

4) Release the brake and countersteer if you can feel the vehicle train starting to swerve.

Contaminated road marking

This can be a danger to other road users!

Cleaning of road surfaces must be carried out after work is completed and, if necessary, during work.

You must not drop or leave anything on the road that may cause danger or inconvenience to traffic. If you drop or spill anything from a vehicle that may endanger or inconvenience traffic, it must be removed immediately.

If this cannot be done, others must be made aware of the situation by marking or other similar means until the danger or inconvenience is removed.

The greasy mess that usually occurs after driving beets home or spreading manure is generally the most dangerous. If your work causes this type of contamination, you have a duty to clean the road. This must be done when you have completed the work. If you neglect this duty, you risk being fined and may also have to pay compensation in the event of a traffic accident caused by road pollution.

If you fail to clean the road, the road authorities or the police can have it done at your expense.

In some cases, "slippery road" warning signs can be borrowed from road authorities or purchased from a machine shop.

In all cases, the police must give permission before you put up warning signs at a specific location on the road. Perhaps this can be done with a phone call to the local police. In other cases, a written request will be necessary.

The signs should normally be placed on the shoulder on the right side of the road so that they are visible 150-250 meters before the contaminated section begins. Signs should be erected to warn traffic in both directions. If the police or road authorities give special rules for the installation, they must be followed.

You should also be aware that even if warning signs are posted, you are not exempt from the obligation to clean the road according to the applicable rules. Nor are you exempt from any liability for damages in the event of a road accident.

Correct marking for lane contamination. The number one indicates the contamination itself.

The area of the Road Traffic Act

Traffic laws apply everywhere the postman goes. That means also on private roads.

The Road Traffic Act applies to roads used for general traffic by one or more types of traffic.

The legal definition of a road: Road, street, cycle path, pavement, square, bridge, passage, path or similar; whether public or private.

To get to and from the fields, tractor drivers are often forced to use the roads to transport products and tools. In a way, country roads are part of your workplace, so you must remember that as soon as you are on the road with tractors and implements, you must respect the rules of the road, including the special traffic rules for drivers.

This means that both you and the vehicles must comply with safety regulations, i.e. the rules of the road and the rules for vehicle design and equipment, including brakes, steering, lights, reflectors and coupling, among other things.

You should also remember that tractors and power tools are often wider than other vehicles on the road.

This means that other traffic can sometimes find it difficult to pass. To make overtaking easier, reduce your speed and, if necessary, move the vehicle to the side and possibly stop completely.

However, your real workplace is the individual properties and their fields. This is where a number of senseless tractor accidents occur every year, the most serious of which include overturning and jackknifing.

To increase safety, also when driving in the fields, a number of regulations have been introduced, including tractor roll-over protection.

These regulations are dealt with in a separate section that also covers noise and vibration.

It's important that you know and follow the instructions for driving on fields and roads and know how to avoid tractor accidents.

No driveway entry.

Driving on expressways is normally not allowed. (However, you are allowed to cross the road). However, driving a tractor on an expressway may be permitted via signage.

Tractor and power tools prohibited.

Not everyone is equally good at following the rules of the road. Watch out!

- or here, where the sign prohibits driving in both directions.

Basic rules of the road

Road users must behave with consideration and care so as not to create danger or cause damage or inconvenience to others, and so that traffic is not unnecessarily obstructed or disturbed. Consideration must also be shown to those living or staying by the road.

Special consideration must be shown to children, school patrols, elderly people, and people with yellow armbands or white canes, or if you can otherwise see that they have impaired vision or hearing or other disabilities that make it difficult for them to drive.

Children are often completely unpredictable.

Be especially considerate of people with disabilities.

Older people don't have it easy in fast traffic.

School patrols' signs to drivers must be respected.

Policeman's sign for traffic control

Stop for driving in the direction of the police officer's chest

- or back.

Stop for all traffic directions at an intersection.

You must drive in the direction along the officer's arms.

Directions for traffic

Road users must comply with the instructions given

- at traffic signs
- at road markings
- by signaling systems
- by the police

In cases where several instructions occur simultaneously, you must first follow the police instructions, then the traffic signs and finally the general traffic rules.

Children under school age should always be seen as danger signs. They cannot travel safely on their own and they often behave impulsively.

Yellow stripes take precedence over white stripes on the roadway.

Early school-age children often forget to look out for turning traffic when crossing the roadway at intersections.

Why some road users are particularly dangerous

Toddlers (under 5-6 years old) are not yet at the stage of development where they can safely navigate traffic on their own. Unfortunately, you see this quite often, especially on residential roads around their homes. Toddlers should always be seen as a clear danger sign that requires special attention, reduced speed and foot on the brake.

Emergency driving and more

An emergency vehicle is equipped with special lights that show blue, flashing light on all sides and a two-tone horn. When an emergency vehicle uses these special signals, other road users must keep the road open for the vehicle in good time. Drivers must stop if necessary.

A motor vehicle used in a single instance to transport seriously ill or injured persons or for other similar purposes that cannot be set up and which has a white sheet conspicuously attached to the front of the vehicle is treated as an emergency vehicle during this operation.

Unauthorized persons must not come so close to the scene of an accident or fire that rescue or extinguishing work, including driving to or from the site, is hindered.

Stop for emergency vehicles if necessary.

Free passage

Road users must allow free passage for defense and civil defense columns, groups of children under the supervision of a leader, ligtog or other closed procession.

Traffic near railway tracks

"Distance markers" indicate the distance to a railroad crossing on roads where you normally drive fast. First you see the board with 3 slanted stripes. Above it is the board for level crossings with or without barriers. Next, you'll see the board with 2 diagonal stripes and finally the one with 1 diagonal stripe, corresponding to 2/3 and 1/3 of the distance to the railroad.

Road users who have to pass a level crossing must exercise particular caution.

The signs warn that there is a railway crossing 150-250 meters ahead.

1. Railroad crossing without barriers. - 2. Tracks. - 3. Level crossing with barriers. - 4. crossing mark for single-track railway. - 5. Crossing mark for multi-track railway. - 6. Look for trains. - 7. Electrified track.

Railroad crossings without barriers with turn signals alone are particularly dangerous, partly because the turn signal can be missed, especially if the sun shines directly into the signal, and the audible signal can be easily overheard.

Railway crossings with both turn signals and barriers are among the safest, but unfortunately the technology can fail. Therefore, it's not enough to pay attention to whether the barriers are down or about to come down, or the signal is flashing. You need to pay special attention to whether trains are coming.

Road users must not pass the railroad crossing when:

1) Flashing signal is on.

2) The barriers are down or coming down.

3) Railway staff indicate that trains are approaching.

4) You can see or hear trains approaching.

When stopping for the train, you must do so at a safe distance from the tracks and before the signal or barrier. Overtaking immediately in front of or on a level crossing is prohibited.

If a vehicle is stopped on a level crossing and cannot be moved immediately, you must take such measures as are necessary to warn train drivers.

If a vehicle is stopped or parked on tracks that are in a road, port or similar, or within 2 meters of the nearest rail, you must move the vehicle without being asked if a train is passing.

Obligations in the event of a road accident

If you are involved in a traffic accident, you must :

- Stop and provide possible assistance to casualties,

- Safeguard traffic by using the warning triangle, possibly the tractor's lights and hazard warning lights,

- Upon request, provide the name and place of residence of others involved in the accident.

According to an agreement between "Foreningen til Dyrenes Beskyttelse" and Falck, anyone can call Falck free of charge if you come across an injured or sick small animal on the road (small animals, such as deer and below).

The police must be notified if:

- there are casualties or

- property damage has occurred and the injured party cannot be notified.

If someone has been killed or seriously injured, the conditions at the scene of the accident must not be changed in order for the police to investigate the accident. However, a vehicle must be moved if its location endangers traffic.

Damage to traffic signs etc.

If you damage traffic signs, markings, traffic signals or similar, you must immediately repair the markings if possible. If this is not possible, you must inform the police as soon as possible and do whatever is necessary to warn other road users.

Warning triangle
If a tractor or power tool stops in such a way that the vehicle causes danger and inconvenience to other traffic due to engine failure, traffic accident or similar, it must be marked with a warning triangle. This also applies to trailers. The warning triangle, which is subject to special approval requirements, must be placed at the end of the roadway on the same side as the vehicle and facing the direction of traffic, at least 50 meters before the stopped vehicle.