Do I need a license for a walk-behind tractor, is it a vehicle?

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Is a walk-behind tractor a vehicle

In order to answer this question, you should read the instruction manual for the device. All accompanying documents indicate that this type of agricultural machinery is not a vehicle and is not intended for operation on public roads. Russian legislation, namely the Code of Administrative Offenses, which regulates the obligations of a citizen to use transport, also does not consider the motor block of the vehicle. On the one hand, this is good, because a citizen is not required to register the device and takes care of the technical inspection, respectively, and the rights to a walk-behind tractor are not needed. On the other hand, the question arises: how to get to the garden, if located at a distance from a residential building? Is the scope of its application limited only to the local area and one site?

Additional requirements

To drive a walk-behind tractor on a public road, the owner must prepare the car in order to make it noticeable and not interfere with other cars.

Primary requirements:

the presence of front running lights, especially for driving at night;
reflective elements on the rear side and sides of the trailer;
the absence of passengers in the back - even if you have a driver's license, you will not be able to avoid the questions of the inspector.

Movement on a walk-behind tractor

The issue is very acute if the path to the site runs along a public road. It is along the way that most precedents happen with traffic police inspectors, the issuance of protocols on an administrative offense, etc. The fact is that there is no separate category of a driver's license for driving a walk-behind tractor. Therefore, you can ride a walk-behind tractor without a license. Another thing is that having left on a public road, the owner is automatically equated to a full-fledged road user, and this entails certain legal aspects and obligations. So, for example, any road user is required to have a document certifying knowledge of traffic rules, without which the organization of traffic is impossible.

The task can be greatly complicated if passengers are transported in a trailer to a walk-behind tractor. In this case, the inspector may issue a fine in accordance with paragraph 22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (SDA), which states that the transportation of people is allowed only in vehicles specially equipped and designed for this.

The speed of the walk-behind tractor is not regulated by additional items in the traffic rules. When driving on a public road, the driver must observe the generally accepted speed limit. Another thing is that the maximum speed of the walk-behind tractor, which most often does not exceed 15-20 km / h, is unlikely to allow it to be broken.

Do I need a license for a walk-behind tractor

Not a single normative act contains information regarding what rights are needed for a walk-behind tractor, as well as the procedure for managing this agricultural machinery. However, the equipment passport has a clear restriction that it is impossible to move on it on public roads. But the destination may not always be reached by bypassing the specified route, and the owners of such a means may not have rights at all. In this case, it is quite possible that a conflict with traffic inspectors will arise. But driving on rural, forest and country roads on a walk-behind tractor will not raise any questions for anyone.

Accordingly, the conclusion suggests itself as follows: even if you have all categories of rights, when driving a walk-behind tractor on a highway and a public road, it is quite possible to run into a fine. The traffic safety inspectorate is obliged to control all types of equipment in accordance with the traffic rules.

Legislative

the acts also do not define the obligation to have any single category in the rights to drive a walk-behind tractor. Despite this, the inspector can stop and require the driver's license. This is necessary in order for the manager to confirm knowledge of the traffic rules required to drive on common roads and highways.

There is no definite answer to the question of whether the rights to drive a walk-behind tractor with a trailer are needed in Russia. A driver's license, in fact, is not required, but when leaving the highway, you must have a document confirming the knowledge of traffic rules (rights).

Otherwise, a fine may be imposed on a person, the amount of which is defined in Art. 12.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. In other words, when driving a walk-behind tractor on the highway, traffic rules are violated by creating obstacles when driving on the highway.

Do I need to get a driver's license

There is no such requirement in the Code of Administrative Offenses. But, paradoxically, a certificate may be required in order to testify that the owner knows the traffic rules. The inspector may not believe the word. Riding a walk-behind tractor on public roads is not formally prohibited, but not allowed either. In order to protect yourself as much as possible from all kinds of legal sanctions, you must adhere to the following simple recommendations.

It is advisable to get a driver's license at least for driving a motorcycle - this will automatically remove the inspector's suspicions.
Always have your license handy when driving on a public road.
Always use lighting devices (or install them yourself, because according to the same Code of Administrative Offenses, each vehicle must be equipped with navigation lights that are turned on regardless of the time of day).
Drive on the road on a walk-behind tractor only with reflectors installed behind the trailer.
Drive a walk-behind tractor in a special reflective vest. Formally, there is no such requirement, but a driver wearing an appropriate vest will be more visible to passing cars.
Ride a walk-behind tractor on the side of the road so as not to impede the movement of vehicles.

By following these simple recommendations, you can protect yourself as much as possible from fines and unpleasant communication with representatives of the traffic police, becoming a full-fledged road user.

Answering the question posed, it should be noted: it is not necessary to obtain rights, but it is better to do so. Their presence will greatly facilitate the movement of this type of agricultural equipment.

TOP of the most popular walk-behind tractors

You can also choose and buy walk-behind tractors in Minsk of other models with fast delivery throughout Belarus.

Permissible age for driving a walk-behind tractor

In fact, anyone who has mastered the management is able to manage it, and no one on his own site will ask for a certificate. Another thing is that even if a child at the age of 13 has mastered the rules for controlling a walk-behind tractor, it is hardly worth trusting him to control a complex technical tool. And to travel on a public road, it is desirable to have a certificate that can be obtained from the age of 18.

From this we can conclude: to work on your site, you must be guided by safety rules, all responsibility lies with an adult, adult person who trusts the management of a teenager. When entering the road, the driver automatically becomes a road user. If a minor child is stopped by a traffic police inspector, the fine will have to be paid by his legal representatives: parents or guardians.

Required minimum to go to the track

Getting the rights to a walk-behind tractor in Belarus is the first thing to do before driving onto the track on this transport vehicle. The driver operating the device is required to study the rules of the road and pass exams for one of the categories. If the walk-behind tractor was assembled manually, movement on a public road is impossible even with a license. In such a case, the unit will be identified as an unregistered vehicle. It is possible to solve the situation, but it will take effort.

Here is a list of actions required to enter the track without unpleasant consequences:

open a suitable driver category;
always have a VU with you;
put low beam headlights or daytime running lights;
install red reflectors on the trailer.

You can register the equipment after passing several examinations. Care must be taken to ensure that the motor unit meets all the criteria established for this type of unit. This is a laborious and time-consuming procedure, for which not everyone has the strength.

Riding on a homemade walk-behind tractor

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses, not a single walk-behind tractor, incl. a device with a suspension and a power unit, assembled by oneself, is not a vehicle. Another thing is that it is the manufacturer who determines the category of his product. He has the legal right to consider the produced equipment as a walk-behind tractor, and in the case of handicraft production, when the inspector stops, questions may arise: who decided that this was a walk-behind tractor, and why? The inspector may require you to show documents for the device or even issue an order to register it, and this leads to certain legal consequences.

In general, the operation of a do-it-yourself walk-behind tractor is no different from that bought in a store. A question may arise in the area of its belonging to the category of the vehicle, and then only if the inspector considers it necessary to ask it. Otherwise, all the same rules apply to home-made equipment as to purchased equipment; no additional points for managing it are prescribed.

Formally, this is an agricultural machinery, the same as a cultivator or a lawn mower.

Motoblock Law 2021

Since 2021, some amendments have been made to the legislation regarding road users. So, starting this year, each category of driver's license provides the right to drive only a certain type of vehicle, so the opening of a new category in a driver's license makes it possible to legally drive a different vehicle. For example, having category "B" rights, the driver cannot drive a walk-behind tractor. At the same time, the old rights are withdrawn and instead a driver's license is issued indicating all new categories.

In accordance with the Rules, in order to open another category, it is necessary to complete a course in driving the relevant vehicle. At the same time, in order to issue a driver's license with the opening of the lower categories, a certificate from a driving school on passing a 20-hour driving training is sufficient.