The number of tractors in Poland is not decreasing – on the contrary – their number in agriculture is still increasing. The opposite is true for those willing to get a category T driving license. Why?
There are more and more tractors on farms, better equipped and more comfortable to operate. Their safe use still depends on the operator’s imagination and knowledge – for this purpose, there are still training courses for category T, which can be passed at the age of 16.
Driving license for a tractor – category BE is enough
However, as it turns out, interest in these training courses is decreasing, mainly due to the wide range of qualifications of people with a category BE driving license. These persons can drive vehicles with a permissible total weight of 3.5t with a trailer other than light ones, and are also authorized to drive agricultural tractors with trailers and low-speed vehicles on public roads, including machines and equipment intended for agricultural work.
Accidents in agriculture
This seemingly very convenient solution affects a very important aspect – namely the number of accidents involving agricultural machinery on public roads.
There are certain issues related to heavy machinery that are not covered in BE courses.
− During periods of intensified agricultural work, the number of tractors and agricultural machines on the roads increases. At the same time, there are more other road users on the roads, because the time of field work coincides with summer vacation and holiday trips. This results in an increase in the number of road accidents, often gruesome ones, involving and caused by tractors and agricultural machines, in which people suffer serious injuries or die, explains Jan Szumiał from the Association of Driver Training Centers in Warsaw.
The most common mistakes when driving a tractor
The cause is most often a poorly or even unmarked vehicle, protruding elements that should be dismantled or folded for driving. Moving machines to work in the field that exceed the permitted width is still a problem.
− During one of the police road checks of an agricultural tractor with a trailer carrying wet grain, it turned out that its weight was twice the permitted weight. Another example: the accident occurred late in the evening during poor visibility. There was a farm tractor with a grain seeder attached to it. The driver of a passenger car approaching from the opposite direction saw only the tractor’s lights, but did not notice the unmarked and unlit seed drill attached to the tractor in the dark. The driver of the passenger car died as a result of his injuries and his left arm was torn off – says Jan Szumiał.
And adds:
− Do these irregularities always occur as a result of farmers’ intentional actions, disregard of regulations or lack of imagination? Or maybe they result from ignorance and lack of appropriate training, which was not available during the training for a category “B” driving license and would be useful in the case of using agricultural equipment? – adds the expert.
Driving license category T
Category B training does not cover the operation and driving of agricultural tractors. The training and state examination for a driving license category E to B covers only the practical part – driving a car with a GVW of 3.5t with a trailer other than a light one.
Therefore, an operator with only a category BE driving license may not know the regulations and rules regarding the operation, use and use of public roads with tractors and agricultural machines, especially when he starts working in agriculture and is just gaining experience.
However, in category T, the student prepares for the state exam in WORD, which has two parts. In the theoretical one, you need to answer 32 questions – 20 of them concern knowledge common to most qualifications, 12 questions are closely related to category T.
The practical exam takes place on a tractor with a trailer. The trainee must demonstrate the ability to maneuver the set on the square and in city traffic.
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