Do you need a license for a walk-behind tractor, how to avoid getting into trouble with a traffic police officer

Walk-behind tractors or walk-behind cultivators are machines/mechanisms for agricultural work, essentially a small tractor. They appeared in the 1920s in Switzerland, but came to the USSR only in the 1980s. Since then, their popularity in the CIS countries has only been growing. Motoblocks will dig up a field or sow it with seeds better and faster than people with manual equipment. These devices are used for sowing, loosening the soil, mowing grass, cultivating plants, clearing snow from the area and for other similar work.

Do you want or have already bought a motorized cultivator, but don’t know if it can be driven on the roads? Want to avoid fines? Understand the terms? Find out whether it is possible to drive a walk-behind tractor on public roads? Then read on.

Next, you will find out whether you need a license to drive a walk-behind tractor/walk-behind tractor with a trailer, whether you can drive a walk-behind tractor on public roads, what is the legal status of a walk-behind tractor, what are the penalties for driving a walk-behind tractor, how to avoid fines for driving a walk-behind tractor.

Legal status of the walk-behind tractor. Is the status different if there is a trailer? Is a motorized cultivator considered a vehicle?

According to the law, walk-behind tractors are not classified as vehicles. Motor cultivators are not designed for driving on asphalt and are considered agricultural equipment. If you attach a trailer to the device, then nothing will change - the walk-behind tractor will not be considered a vehicle even with a trailer.

Is it possible to drive a walk-behind tractor on public roads, do you need a license?

There is no mention of motor cultivators in the PPD, so purely technically, rights are not needed. But don’t rush to rejoice, there are some nuances when traffic police inspectors can fine you for driving such a vehicle.

The manual for each officially purchased model states that the product is intended for use in the field, on the farm and on road sections, which is not controlled by the road inspection. At the same time, the manufacturer always writes in the instructions that it is forbidden to drive the walk-behind tractor on shared roads with other vehicles.

Traffic police officers often stop such drivers without a license and fine them. The drivers sued, but the court was not on their side. It would seem that nowhere is it stated about the rights to a walk-behind tractor, it seems that the driver is right, and government officials just fined an innocent person. But the law doesn't think so.

What do we get as a result? A walk-behind tractor is not officially considered a vehicle. Classified as agricultural. The traffic rules do not mention, there is no required category of driver's license/licence. But drivers of these vehicles are legally fined. Why? When you drive a walk-behind tractor onto the road, for the traffic police inspector you officially become a participant in the road traffic, even if your vehicle is not officially considered a transport vehicle and does not require a license. Any traffic participant can be fined for ignorance of traffic rules or lack of a license/driver's license. The latter are also an indicator of how familiar you are with the traffic rules.

Although you don’t officially need a license to drive a motorized cultivator, if you want to finish your trip without fines, you will need a category “A” driver’s license.

Do you need a license to drive a walk-behind tractor with a trailer?

It was mentioned above that the presence of a trailer on a walk-behind tractor does not make it a vehicle, but to drive it on public roads you will also need a license of category “A” or higher.

What documents are needed to drive a walk-behind tractor on the road? Age restrictions for riding a motorized cultivator.

Officially, there are no age restrictions for riding a walk-behind tractor. If you drive on the road near your site, you cannot be fined or face any charges, regardless of your age. If we are talking about driving on a public road, then after you enter it, the traffic police inspector considers you a participant in the road traffic, and each traffic participant must have a driver’s license. You can only get a driver's license at 18 years of age.

That is, in order to ride a walk-behind tractor on the road, you need to be of age.

To drive a motorized cultivator on a public road, you will need two documents:

• Driving license category "A" or higher (you are considered a road user)
• Passport for the walk-behind tractor (so that the inspector understands that it is not stolen)

Drivers of the unit/employees of the organization that owns the device will additionally need a driving permit.

Penalties for driving a walk-behind tractor

The main punishment for the driver of a motorized cultivator is a fine. It can be passed off as:

1. Driving a homemade, unregistered device
2. Driving without a license
3. Obstructing traffic
4. Driving while intoxicated (alcohol/drugs)
5. Theft of a device (no passport/permit confirming that the device is not stolen)

How to avoid fines

To avoid a fine for driving a walk-behind tractor on the road, you need to:

• Officially register the device and obtain a passport for the unit.
• Have a driving license with category A/A1.
• Equip the equipment with headlights or other lighting devices and reflectors.

Additionally, you can take out insurance and get a first aid kit.