Slippery Road

[Evilgoat]

Friday night, comming home down the lane and I can see headlamps in the feild and hazards on the lane ahhead. As I get close I find a 56 reg Clio on its drivers side on the feild and every sigh he's 360'#ed it before going through the hedge on his side backwards (Maximum points for style). The lads ok, just 17 and although shaken, unharmed. I was getting suspicious as he was trying to find his mobile. Smelt fuel and sent him to sit in another car, blocked the road untill the poilce turned up along with an Ambulance.

Now, at this point, having loaded him up, the Ambulance couldnt move, no traction at all and the Police officer I was chatting to spotted the boys Skidmarks started there. He used their Freelander to nudge the ambulance on. As the ambulance pulled away we were greeted with the screech of tired and moved away intime to see a Mitsi FTO remove most of his bodykit and almost end up in the same hedge. Took bend too fast, failed to see the array of amber and blue lights and removed his body kit. Told off by plod who helped him load up bits into the boot and then drove off. As we were finishing up a biker pulls up and informs us that his mate had just done the same not 30 minutes ago.


This morning, ona another stretch of the same road, I see tail lights in the hedge, yup, golf buried in the hedge having come off on a bend. Driver was ok, although she's acheived an interesting angle on a front wheel.

We can only guess its DERV or something similar on the road. The farmers in that area are remowned for turning the roads into deathtraps, with one of the local road impassable for anything without 4x4 now.

[TDi90]

good thing you got serenity working then eh?!

[Range Rover Blues]

That's 2 posts in the bar about the same topic, and with the price of diesel it's got to be somebody with motivation.

[Evilgoat]

Given that there are large tracks as made by a tractor or combine I'll lean towards a faulty veichle of some kind here.

[3laner]

an interesting theory about a farm machine. We had an ex traffic plod come to take a lecture on agricultural vehicle and the law. he gave an interesting statistic that in 80% of RTI's involving ag machinery the machine in question was over 5 years old.
Bad maintenance of tractors etc is becoming an increasing problem as farm go one of two ways and either sink into poverty or become large well maintained estates. Im very fortunate to work on a farm with resonably new kit that is well looked after but apprieciate the problems poor farmers are facing keeping an aging fleet in a worth condition. in my opinion it wont be long before ag machines on the road will face stricter guidlines.
If the farmer in evilgoats case is found to be responsible then iv no doubt he will be facing some very serious consequences.

lecture over!!

[richo]

Some lorry drivers fill up there tanks to the brim and then pull out of the filling station and the first roundabout they come to they drop a bit out as the diesel sloshes around in the tank.
But before any lorry drivers start on me it's only a small number as alot of lorry drivers ride bikes so know that filling up there tanks to the top can cause this problem.

[Evilgoat]

The farmers in question have a habbit of turning those lanes into a skid pan, as I said, one is already impassable because of the mud all ove rthe road. Doing it in a 2wd would be a death warrant and seent the ESP light come on in the Audi more than once on those lanes.

I realise that there isnt much they can do about it when the weather is like it has been but are they not obligated to keep the road clear.

Still mud is one thing, fuel/lube oil is something else.

[Tommo]

an interesting theory about a farm machine. We had an ex traffic plod come to take a lecture on agricultural vehicle and the law. he gave an interesting statistic that in 80% of RTI's involving ag machinery the machine in question was over 5 years old.
Bad maintenance of tractors etc is becoming an increasing problem as farm go one of two ways and either sink into poverty or become large well maintained estates. Im very fortunate to work on a farm with resonably new kit that is well looked after but apprieciate the problems poor farmers are facing keeping an aging fleet in a worth condition. in my opinion it wont be long before ag machines on the road will face stricter guidlines.
If the farmer in evilgoats case is found to be responsible then iv no doubt he will be facing some very serious consequences.

lecture over!!

Yeah but what percentage of ag stuff is under 5 years old??? ill bet its not a great deal. most farmers round our way use old kit. new stuff tends to be bought by big fancey farms where the vehicles barely go on the road at all. round here most farmers have fields scattered all over the place.

[muddyjames]

I realise that there isnt much they can do about it when the weather is like it has been but are they not obligated to keep the road clear.

I thought it was against the law to leave mud on the road???

[William]

The basic reason for the accidents is idiotic drivers, putting the blame onto farmers is simply ridiculous. And if its a country road, mud on the road aswell as agricultural machines being present should be taken into account by drivers using the roads. We all take into account schools, and industrial entrances when driving in towns so why not apply the same practices in the countryside?. Again its town folk penaliseing the countryside and the way of life thats been for centurys, same as the fox hunting ban, enoughs enough. We dont tell townies what to do in towns, so why should they come into the countryside and start trying to change our way of life?
William

[Evilgoat]

Woul you like to look at the roads before shouting off?

These three farmers have made one PUBLIC HIGHWAY impassable.

Not talking a little bit here and I made pains NOT to tar you all with the same brush. These are also not country lanes but urban roads called lanes because well, they are quite roads.

[Tommo]

Woul you like to look at the roads before shouting off?

These three farmers have made one PUBLIC HIGHWAY impassable.

Not talking a little bit here and I made pains NOT to tar you all with the same brush. These are also not country lanes but urban roads called lanes because well, they are quite roads.

Chill out. and i think your case is a very isolated case, The odd diesel drip yeah, but no farmer is gonna drive a tractor thats gushing diesel out, even cherry still costs money.

[William]

I wasnt shouting off at all, your the one shouting. I very much doubt they have made the road impassible, because that simply wouldnt be allowed to happen. And as tommo said, we get paid nothin as it is, driving round in a tractor leaking red diesel at 50p per litre would bankcrupt most agricultural businesses. And after all farmers only feed the country, so ranting over abit of mud or diesel, really is rather irrelevant on the grand scheme of things. Its quite simple, just drive responsibly on country roads, or any road for that matter.
William