Tractors often 'driven by young lads' should be banned from Irish motorways

The Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA, has called for a ban on tractors and slow moving vehicles using our motorway network.

IRHA President Ger Hyland was speaking as the IRHA launched a campaign to highlight the dangers that tractors and slow moving vehicles pose to other road users on our motorway network. Hyland pointed out that Ireland is currently the only country in the EU that allows tractors on motorways and said that if we are serious about road safety, and preventing further road deaths, tractors should be removed from our motorways.

According to Hyland, there are no good reasons to allow tractors to use our motorways:

“Tractors cause a build-up of traffic behind them on the motorway, with people pulling into other lanes at the last minute to avoid the slow moving tractor. Tractors are a regular sight on our motorways during the summer months, sometimes pulling trailers of hay and silage bales or pulling slurry spreaders or other heavy machinery.

"A family in a car driving in heavy fog on the motorway at 120Km per hour could come across this tractor and have very little time to react. This is presenting a clear and present danger to other road users and is a serious tragedy waiting to happen."

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As things stand, tractors are legally permitted on motorways in the Republic of Ireland, providing that the tractor is capable of reaching a minimum speed of 50km/h. Members of the Irish Road Hauliers Association have described how their HGVs are getting stuck behind tractors and trailers leading to congestion and dangerous manoeuvring on the motorway network.

The Irish Road Hauliers Association has advised government to heed guidance issued by the Health and Safety authority of Ireland, who said that “as a general rule farm tractors and machinery should not be driven on motorways as they create a serious hazard to other road users due to their slow speed”

Hyland pointed to some recent tragedies on our roads involving tractors on motorways:

“We have flagged some high profile accidents already including the death of a father of two in his 30s, who was killed when the car in which he was a passenger was in collision with a tractor on the M1 Northbound between Junctions 12 & 14 at Mooremont, Co. Louth in 2023. This just isn’t safe. In many cases, these tractors are been driven by young lads on provisional licenses who just don’t have the driving experience to handle difficult road conditions on a motorway”

Hyland said tractors driving on our motorways are often driving at speeds below 50km per hour, in particular when going up inclines, especially if they have a heavy load attached.

The Irish Road Haulage Association has called on the Government to work with the Road Safety Authority and the Irish Farmers Association to take action and ensure that tractors stick to local and regional roads and not use motorways that are designed for fast moving intercity traffic.