Dangerous tractors

[Ripeberry]

This may not mean much to people in large towns or cities but where I live there are lots of tractors around. They loom over you at junctions with their 'claws' high in the air. I always get a bit freaked out by them as I think that just at the moment I go past them their hydraulics will fail and the arms will come down and skewer the car.
Anyway, something like this almost happened today! I was following a tractor and it had an 'arm' on the side with some kind of spade bucket attachement. As it was bumping along a normal sized road the arm came loose and swung across the road narrowly missing a car coming the other way (head height).
So I was flashing my lights to try and catch the tractor drivers attention and then another car coming towards it had to slam on the brakes and flash his lights and beep his horn to tell him to STOP NOW!
The tractor driver managed to pull into a siding, by then the arm was scraping along the ground throwing up sparks.
Scary stuff! Be careful about vehicles with anything attached to them. I don't like flat bed lorries with scafolding poles for the same reasons.
:panic:

[PixiePetal]

My DH is a farmer, we live on the farm. Farms and vehicles can be dangerous places and I have to be extra careful around the lanes.

Nothing like that has happened here as far as I know. Before they go on the road they have to check that the vehicle is safe and ready to go. What you saw could have been driver error - very lucky no one was hit thank goodness or mechanical failure of some sort. Sounds like driver did not secure properly or jiggled something loose.Worrying to say the least. I hope the driver sorted it safely.

All I can say is keep your distance and treat with respect. Don't get annoyed (like I see some people do) and try at every opportunity to get past - people hate being behind a tractor :rolleyes:

[muffins]

Yep we have lots of tractors round here too, my mum & her partner run one of the local ones too! I'm always abit nervy of them aswell!

We also have to watch out for lorries! I live near the port of Dover so there are lots of left hand drive lorries & they cant see you if your over taking on a dual carraige way or on round abouts, also on cold morings when they come off the boats they tend to have alot of ice on top & when going round round abouts it tends to just slide off:panic:

[miffy]

Sounds very scary. I don't like lorries with poles on either, once saw a programme where someone following behind was seriously injured when poles came off the back.

Miffy xx

[rickysmiths]

I don't like those enormous rubbish trucks you see hurtling along the motorways scary I always keep well back or try to get past them.

[sarah707]

Scary! :eek: Glad you are ok xx

[jane5]

I was driving alone on the motorway after dropping dh at work and a small lorry in front on the inside lane had scaffolding boards staked up, leaning against the cab and the other part wedged in the bottom of the lorry.

The wind caught the ends of the board stacked on the cab and the whole lot went up in the air like matchsticks. It was very frightening to see all these boards flying at you and it was a miracle that nobody was hurt.

Luckily no cars were hit and no one hit other cars as they swerved to avoid the boards. I had to swerve in to the other lane and I think because it was 8.30am the traffic was going about 40mph so people managed to react in time.

I was 8 months pregnant so you can imagine what kind of emotional state I was in.