Driving briskly to work after being to the dentist I went to overtake an elderly gent in his newish S40. He was doing about 45-50 so I just kept my momentum and tried to go past at about 60. The old bugger floored it as soon as I came along side. I don;t know if he just woke up and decided to get back up to speed or he was being a git. I think the latter it's not the first time I've had some old bugger nail the throttle after dawdling along well below the limit.

Rant two, same journey, are the amber flashing lights on the top of a tractor a legal requirement now? I think these are a great thing, they give you plenty warning that there is a slow moving vehicle ahead. I passed about 6 tractors today and only 2 of them had lights on.

You sure it wasn't a certain member on here in the S40??

He's old isn't he?! :P

Rant two, same journey, are the amber flashing lights on the top of a tractor a legal requirement now? I think these are a great thing, they give you plenty warning that there is a slow moving vehicle ahead. I passed about 6 tractors today and only 2 of them had lights on.

Not sure on the letter of the law, but it's probably like all the other things they bring in - ie, if you were to buy a new one, it would have one fitted, but there's no requirement to retro fit. I think they only have to be turned on if you're going < 25mph

Flashing beacons are not a legal requirement on an agricultural vehicle unless travelling on dual carriageway

As a general rule they tend to be fitted to all new tractors as a lot of tractors are designed to travel at 50kph or 60kph and are used on dual carriageways for moving produce across large distances.

As a part-time tractor driver myself, here's a message to car drivers nationwide. If you stay far enough back so I can actually see you in my wing mirrors, I'll pull over and let you past as soon as it's possible to do so. Sitting 2 metres away from the back of the trailer makes you invisible to me, decreases the chances of you being able to pass, and increases the chances of you running in to the back of me - I'm willing to bet that tractor brakes + trailer brakes are a lot better at stopping than your car brakes.

Flashing beacons are not a legal requirement on an agricultural vehicle unless travelling on dual carriageway

As a general rule they tend to be fitted to all new tractors as a lot of tractors are designed to travel at 50kph or 60kph and are used on dual carriageways for moving produce across large distances.

As a part-time tractor driver myself, here's a message to car drivers nationwide. If you stay far enough back so I can actually see you in my wing mirrors, I'll pull over and let you past as soon as it's possible to do so. Sitting 2 metres away from the back of the trailer makes you invisible to me, decreases the chances of you being able to pass, and increases the chances of you running in to the back of me - I'm willing to bet that tractor brakes + trailer brakes are a lot better at stopping than your car brakes.

Only got an old vintage tractor ....but that has an orange beacon on it ....but to be honest I try not to take it on the road as flat out it does 18mph and with the speed of the traffic it's frightening being sat there

As a general rule they tend to be fitted to all new tractors as a lot of tractors are designed to travel at 50kph or 60kph and are used on dual carriageways for moving produce across large distances.

I've followed some of those out your way- I used to work at Hindlip- and they don't half shift for tractors.

I actually think it makes them more annoying. The good thing about low speed (40kph ish) tractors is that they're really easy for pretty much any moderately powered family car to overtake. When you start getting towards 60kph you need so much more room and ideally power to get past them tractor quickly and safely :( - not a problem in the vrs but it used to be frustrating in the SDI

Sitting 2 metres away from the back of the trailer makes you invisible to me, decreases the chances of you being able to pass, and increases the chances of you running in to the back of me - I'm willing to bet that tractor brakes + trailer brakes are a lot better at stopping than your car brakes.

I'd take that, conditional on my getting to brake on dry tarmac, and not the slurry that most tractors seem to leave on the roads behind them.