27.02.2014: Brussels (Belgium) - On 27 February 2014 was held in the CIECA office in Brussels at the request of its members the 7th thematic workshop on issues of operational interest addressing the specific topic of tractors.
Given the fact that the three European directives on driving licences do not include these agricultural and forestry vehicles in driving licence categories, except for an administrative definition, the current situation is very different through the Member States (specific category on driving licence or not, only training or just an information of farmers).
Therefore the main goals of this workshop were firstly, to gain a precise overview of the situation, secondly, to identify the measures taken in this area, and finally, to draw lessons on the best practices observed, more particularly as regards the new legal and administrative context created by the implementation of the Regulation (EU) n°167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles. Indeed, this Regulation shall be applied from 1 January 2016 and will repeal all the directives currently in force.
All workshop participants agreed to admit that working conditions of farmers had considerably changed over the past decades: landscape of the countryside has been profoundly remodelled following land reparcelling, farms have grown bigger and the distance from farm fields have become greater, leading farmers to drive bigger sized agricultural vehicles on more and more frequented roads, sometimes by night. The cohabitation of agricultural vehicles with other road users is thus a real stake in safety, of which farmers must be made particularly conscious.
The presentations given at the event showed that members share a great concern for improving training and information of users of these specific vehicles. Excellent examples of thematic guide were presented which emphasized safety from taking over of the vehicle to the end of its use, whether on the road or during agricultural works, in total coherence with the superior levels of the GDE matrix.
The workshop ended by a round table with all participants with the aim to find out their plans concerning agricultural and forestry tractors (driver training only or safety training in general, contents of theoretical and practical tests, recognition of the specific "tractor category" between Member States, minimum age of access to driving, more particularly as regards bigger sized tractors, equivalences between "tractor category" and other driving licence categories, which new provisions in order to cope with future fast tractors (60 km/h).
Of course, all these issues will be addressed in a final report, currently in preparation and soon available in the members-only section of the CIECA website