Guys & Galls,

Has this ever happened to you? I was driving my JD B to Bennington for the Bennington Battle Day Parade ( for the Boy Scouts of America float ) and after passing State Troopers, Sherifs and a couple of Bennington's finest one of the BPD pulls in front of me and signals me to pull over. He asks f I am a farmer and when I say no he tells me I am no different than an ATV and that the tractor triangle or not needs to be registered and insured. Also even if I was a farmer I need to be on farm business or hauling an implement. Pulling a float for the BSA is not farm business. I would be allowed to continue to my Bennington destination and allowed to drive in the parade (road is closed). I would then have to have "B" hauled out of town. I asked him if when I was reunited with my hay wagon would I be alright to drive out of town. He responded that he was not going to stand there all day and play games with me. I said I was serious and as he walked away said have it hauled out tomorrow. Now the law applies equally to everyone and I understand what the policeman is saying but I still felt like a criminal. I asked numerous law enforcement people over the years about the triangle and all said " you just need the triangle". It is not like there is a sign when you purchase the triangle telling you when and where it applies. Plus he never gave me an answer about the hay wagon.

I still drove it home with the hay wagon attached and a Sherif put the radar to me and indicated I was doing 5 mph. That was 1 mph faster than I thought. The whole incident got my rear end. It is not the first time I ever drove a tractor through town but I guess it will be my last. I live 8 miles away and it took me two hours to go one way with "B". Plus I was invited by the town to partake in there annual celebration which I have been doing most of my life so far.

The times are changing,

Ben
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Ben,

In Vermont you do not need to register your tractor. All you need is a triangle. That smokey is a moron. You have to have allot of gall to harrass a citizen who donates there time for a good cause. I would write a letter to his boss. Let me guess. Was he a young guy? Full of pi$$ and vinegar I'm sure. If he was older, his hemroids were acting up.

Next time it happens tell the jerk with the badge to write you a ticket for that offence. He won't be able to because he has no legal ground to do so. I was pulled over for no front licence plate in my truck. He gave some crap and I said if it's illegal than write me a ticket. Well he didn't. There is no law that states I have to have a front licence plate.

If it were me Ben, on the way back I would have fliped the cop the bird, just to piss him off and so that he would have to get his a$$ out of the car. I have the utmost respect for the law and the officers that enforce it. It's idiots like that cop you spoke of that realy irratates me.

He was one of the oldest fellows on the force. He is also the DOT cop maybe he was upset that I held up traffic while crossing a bridge. His Boss backs him 100%. We are coming to an end.

Ben

Interesting.

Here in Iowa, the Code specifically states there is no registration requirement for "any implement of husbandry". The code doesn't require that the "implement of husbandry" must actually belong to a full-fledged farmer. Furthermore, although Slow Moving Vehicle triangles are required for ANY vehicle (including horse-drawn equipment) on public highways unable to travel faster than 35MPH, there are exclusions for parades and such. One needs to have a driver's license (unless you are travelling directly from field to field, etc.), and there must be a flashing amber light visible from the rear IF travelling after sunset.

Perhaps our resident attorney, John "T", should jump in and offer a legal opinion....

Ben, sounds to me like the cop was having a bad day and you were the easiest target. If there was such a thing I would have been pulled over the day it was enacted, as the local law enforcement dont care much for my father . The only thing they have said to me was to pull over when I can to let the traffic go by.

Andrew

OK Boys,

Look up ( Google ) VT Statutes online Title 23 section 370. The definition for farm tractor is in title 23 (70). Section 370 speaks of registration. I do not quite understand what it says but I do not see where it specifies I have to be a farmer to drive down the road.

Ben

Well, Ben, I'm no lawyer, but here's what some of the Vermont Code states:

Title 23, Chapter 1, Section 4 (Definitions)

(21) "Motor vehicle" shall include all vehicles propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power, except farm tractors, vehicles running only upon stationary rails or tracks, motorized highway building equipment, road making appliances, snowmobiles, or tracked vehicles or electric personal assistive mobility devices.


(68) "Farm tractor" means a traveling power plant or a self-propelled device which functions as part of crop production, harvesting, feeding, or livestock management, or is used for drawing a farm trailer as defined in subdivision (69) of this section. "Farm tractor" also means a self-propelled vehicle designed to perform single-purpose functions, such as land preparation, crop protection, or harvesting. The term "farm tractor" shall not include a "motor truck" as defined in subdivision (20) of this section.

It appears that Vermont differentiates "farm tractors" from the general classification of "motor vehicles", and Vermont does so very explicitly by calling out and excluding "farm tractors" from the definition of "motor vehicles".

So, if registration is required for "farm tractors", it seems there would need to be a specific section of the Code that addresses registration for "farm tractors".

And, in Chapter 7 (Registration), there seem to be many catagories of "motor vehicles" that are addressed within that Chapter, but there is nothing in that Chapter that mentions "farm tractors".

Accordingly, it appears that "farm tractors" are not required to be registered in Vermont.

If you ever have a chance to talk to that Policeman again, it would be interesting to ask him just exactly what part of the Code he believes requires "farm tractors" to be registered. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be anything in the Code that specifically requires a "farm tractor" to be actively participating in farming activities, but maybe I missed it. Just because a tractor is "retired" to parade duty doesn't change its classification from "farm tractor" to "motor vehicle", unless the law specifically addresses that aspect. And I don't see that aspect. It may be there, but it isn't evident.

And as I mentioned in my earlier post, there's nothing I found in the law that requires the operator of a tractor to be a farmer. For example, what if you were a school teacher and just happened to be doing a favor for a farmer friend by driving his tractor on the road from one farm to another. According to the cop, I guess that means he considers the farmer's tractor an ATV, just because you weren't a professional farmer. (???)

I think the policeman is in error about this matter....

Dan,

I agree 100% with you!

Ben

I would have to say that it's your crap shoot to go on any public road or property without insurance. But the last I checked in Pa. (this was a long time ago), the only requirement other than the SMV triangle on the rear was that the operator was a licensed motor vehicle operator. Us boys were not allowed on the main road, only the Macafee road until we had our license. The cops pretty much ignored us (still do). I'm sure now in this lawsuit and fines happy world, all that has changed.

Gee Ben, I never figgered you as a scofflaw!

You're a better man than me. I believe I'd have told that officer where to get off. I frequently get the notion to take my 60 out for a little spin. But, around these parts, it's not unusual in the least to see older tractors on the road. In fact, it's not unusual to see them hauling a load of hay right through the village, or heading from one field North of the village to one South of it right down the main drag.

I'm guessing one of these days I'll bump into an officer like the one you did. But he's gonna have to start pulling over all of the youngsters on ATV's and old farts on golf carts going up and down the road before I'll pay him any heed...

With me being a stubborn ornery ole cuss & knowing I was in the right, I woulden't pay the officer with PMS any attention. If he wanted to be a jackass, I would be polite, respectfull, yes sir, no sir, do what I wanted to and let him write his ticket. Then I would visit the DA & let him decide whether he wanted to drop it and save himself and the officer the embarassment or go to court & let the judge throw it out. Sounds to me like someone needs some MIDOL! LOL

M-MAN

The local Judge that we have where I live would have had that officer strung up by his . My brother was out baling at 2:00 in the morning and he was turned in by someone in the subdivision for making to much noise at night. An officer stopped by and told my brother that he would have to stop baling because he was making to much noise. My brother told him that he was not going to stop and there was nothing in the law that the officer could use to make him stop, the officer left and my brother finished baling. All of the officers in our city were reminded the next day that ag is exempt form the noise ordinances. My comment was "if they think that the tractor I had on the baler was noisy, I will take the muffler off of the Diesel 70 and but it on the baler next time".
Thanks
Ken

Weather farm equipment are exempt or not, know one should be out at that time of night near a populated area running equipment.

I disagree. Around here the farms were here LONG before any subdivisions, including the smells and sounds associated with farms. There are certain times of year when there is not enough time in a day to get stuff done, specifically planting season and harvesting season.

It has been common for farmers to work at night for generations, it's the people moving in next door that have changed.

Dave

Well you make a good point but 02:00 is realy rediculouse.

Agreed. It is pretty ridiculous, it's sleepy time! LOL

2AM is ridiculous?

That's news to me!

Brandon (posting at 4:30AM)

Lot cooler working the night shift. Could almost never get away with that around here. Not because of neighbors complaining but the dew factor. Hardly an evening around here in the rust belt where you wouldn't have wet hay if you tried to do that at night. I used to joke around with my buddy about someone inventing a hay that could be grown and bailed in the shade.

PA has the same or similar sounding deal as Dan in Iowa mentioned. In our books all equipment is under a section called "impliments of husbandry" as well. No registration required. A Slow moving vehicle triangle always required. Lights at night. I belive the triangle is a world-wide thing. Tractors being shipped overseas require them and visa versa. (So I've been told...)

In about 1959 (as I recall) while I was a Jr. in high school a friend about 5 years older than me, in our small town had an unstyled A, plus another tractor or two that he farmed with. In the fall of that year he had brought the A to town for the Winter. He parked it in his front yard. The cop came after a few weeks and said he had to move it, that he couldn't have a tractor in town. I am not sure where he went to get a copy of the law but "Farm Tractors" were exempt. He took a copy to the gods at city hall. Again, this was about 1959. That tractor still sits in the same spot as when he parked it to this day. He is in his 70s now and his health is failing but it will remain where it is as long as he is alive. Strange part about it is he was and is one of the nicest people you could ever find. If only they would have ask, and not told, I am sure it would have been moved. Anyone driving through Caddo Mills, Texas on Hwy. 66, you will see it on the West side of the Hwy. All rust and tires rotted, but you can tell what it is. And that is the rest of the story.