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Mud on the road – irresponsible farmers
Living in a rural area provides some great riding experiences, but the one thing I really hate at this time of year is the amount mud deposited on the roads from tractors. Its bad enough in the wet when it becomes a mud bath, but if allowed to dry the deposits are potential hazards to anything on two wheels (I’ve almost come a cropper on more than one occasion). A quick Google reveals that under the Highways Act 1980 it is an offence for farmers (or anyone else for that matter) to deposit mud and other things on the highway (S148), which could result in prosecution and a fine. Given that this is a regular occurrence where I live, the tractors clearly aren’t being cleaned properly as they should before taking to public roads, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin with regards raising it with someone. Anyone else ever had this problem?
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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33 comments
On my recent rides it's been less farmers causing issues and more those working on the gazillions of new housing developments springing up. I have some sympathy for the former, as it's not always going to be feasible to clean down tractors every time they leave a field, but it ought to be a default part of any planning application that the developer make provision for cleaning down any vehicles before they leave the site, with hefty fines for failing to do so.
In recent days I've noticed that it seems like someone has been spreading a fine sludge of brown organic matter all over the roads. It is annoyingly slippy and effecting my cornering speeds. The suspicious matter seems to be made up of the broken down parts of brown, red and yellow plates of plant like material. It especially seems to have been spread around many local tree trunks, but I haven't seen anyone loitering under trees so I can't tell who is doing it.
I do hate how someone appears to go along and pile all of the leaves up, so they take up half of the footway or cycle path, but then can't bring themselves to actually take the leaves away!
This isn't a new problem, I remember about 60 years ago my Dad complaining about mud from rural Shropshire roads spoiling the paintwork of his new Ford Anglia and saying that farmers were legally obliged to clean up.
I mentioned this to a school friend whose father was a farmer and he said that as his father and the Chief Constable were members of the same hunt he doubted whether the police would be interested.
What a joy it must be to live in the dry conditions of Spain or South of France where you can cycle on clean roads and not need to strip the bike down to get all the mud and grit out of the gears and sprockets all the time. And of course you have a choice of using the dangerous main roads with heavy traffic or taking the quiet option of farm roads with all the mud, gravel and potholes.
To answer the OP's original question(s):
Depositing mud on the road is an offence.
Report it to the police and emphasise the danger to road users.
It's not really about keeping the bike clean is it, it's about the dangerously slippy road. And it's not just bikes, I've seen a couple of cars come a cropper.
Anyone who lives anywhere near the HS2 route is by now getting pretty used to the field access point roads being covered in mud for 400 metres in every direction.
HS2 contractors don't give a shit so don't expect the farmers to either.
UK laws are made to be broken.. apparently
Its interesting so many people have different interpretations of what constitutes 'mud on the roads'. In East Anglia what you tend to get from now till spring is by field entrances farm vehicles drag big clods of ploughed mud onto the road which slowly get compressed by the weight of their and other passing vehicles into these small mounds, and you'll be left with lots of these rock hard lumps of mud in your path,the earth is very clay rich in this part of the world,so it dries very solid.
on two wheels they are like riding over washboard, easily enough to unbalance you if you catch the wrong angle/speed or were unsigned and invariably you cant pick a safe route and slalom through it because you always hit them just as some idiot in a 4x4 Chelsea tractor close passes you.
FWIW I do think it can be a serious hazard for bike riders,its got nothing to do with getting your bike muddy
Sounds like we have the same soil type - that's exactly how I'd describe it. No fun at all!
Ah, interesting perspective on the problem, thanks. New Forest/Cranborne Chase mud isn't like that - sandy/chalky soil mostly around here, and hills mean that roads get washed clean naturally after a few
dayshours.Soil is mostly glacial till (clay) around here. There is usually a trail of mud from a field entrance where vehicles have repeatedly gone in and out, as they have done recently while harvesting maize (probably the worst crop for mud and soil) or drilling winter crops. It may dry into a broad ridge but sometimes it stays damp and then it's really slippery.
The farmers leave it to let the rain to wash the mud away but the smaller, winding roads and lanes have much less traffic than A or B roads so it takes much longer for it to clear. These roads are not wide enough for me to change line to avoid the worst bits.
And it's not just mud carried from fields. The wide track of modern tractors (and trailers) means that they chew up the soft verges, which ends up on the road.
If I was concerned about getting my bike muddy I would hardly ride it at all in the winter!
Rear in mind that there is no legal requirement to have a chap with a shovel and broom following bthe tractor to have an instant clean up. This means that there may be mud on the road. It is allowed.
Naturally all sensible people ride and drive to the conditions so if you have a problem you were not. Just slow down or even get off and walk.
To my mind the agrioculural community has a far greater right to be on the roads, muck and all than a bunch of selfish cyclists out for a jolly. I include myself here.
Its the country side. I assume that those complaining are also moaning about those who leave glass on the road, or diesel or phone masts that screw the country side. Not just one of the above but all of them at the same time.
I think that mattsccm thought I was complaining that the roads are dirty or something...
I commuted on lanes for a couple of years and it was pretty annoying; I don't think we're talking about a bit of mud, it's the 2 inch thick layer of stcky clay mud that's been dragged up from the depths of the field. Sticks to the wheel and you have to stop to clear it off. One of the reasons I steer clear of lanes from now until March as it's all a bit random. Couple this with vehicles smashing up the muddy verges and it's just not worth the hassle of a major bike clean after a ride. Luckily I moved jobs but I was about to give up the winter commute as the bike needed cleaning every evening or else the mech just siezed up. Lots of bits needed replacing after that period of riding.
It's inevitable. If a tractor drives off a muddy field then it will bring some mud with it. Just ride to the conditions.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a whinge about a little mud which might make my bike a bit dirty. I get that at this time of year that's inevitable - what I'm talking about are substantial deposits which could be hazardous if ridden over - there's a difference.
It's inevitable. If a tractor drives off a muddy field then it will bring some mud with it. Just ride to the conditions.
There's a few places on our local routes which get muddy at this time of year, certainly you need to be a bit more careful, but it's the countryside, it's autumn (a very wet autumn) and tractors go in and out of fields. No sense getting het up about it, it'll rain and all will be right again soon enough.
Same here in South Cumbria - there are some roads I avoid now as I know that the road by these particular farms will be covered in mud and cowshit. Yes they are obliged by law to deal with it, but it's just like other laws that apply more to the countryside (ie hunting foxes with hounds), they are never upheld.
I can't say it bothers me that much, I usually use the winter bike on the commutes so it gets a hose-down after most rides anyway, and I've not come close to coming off due to it. Having said that, I'd rather not have to go through it if possible!
Or.... just people going about their business trying to make a living. It's the countryside, get over it.
Except that it is an offence:
https://www.wrighthassall.co.uk/knowledge/legal-articles/2012/12/18/whos-liable-mud-road/
'Countryside', 'trying to make a living', 'whatever', I'm pretty sure you still have an obligation to obey the law and not put other road users at risk.
Yeah, we all know that it's an offence. Most farmers actually do regular road cleaning themselves. Doesn't mean that the road is always going to be clear of mud or that's in completely avoidable. Get over yourself.
From the OP:
Get over yourself
You're right brooksby, what was I thinking?!
I think that Htc thought you were complaining that the roads are dirty or something...
"Most farmers do regular road cleaning"??? F**k off, you're having a laugh. A few do but the vast majority certainly do not.
And to dismiss what most of us to be real concern about safety that way is unhelpful and sadly typical of the "That's country life, live with it, townie" mentality of many selfish farmers and contractors.
West Mercia Police issue a press release every year reminding farmers of their responsibility to other road users, describing leaving mud on roads as "reckless and irresponsible". They don't do that for no reason.
I'd expect most councils to offer a method of reporting it. Shropshire council has a portal where you can report potholes, mud etc.
Farmers don't get an out simply because they're farmers. Oh you were maimed when you got knocked off your bike by a dump truck? Just people going about their business trying to make a living. It's the city, get over it.
My guess is they don't really understand the problem, probably see it only in terms of a few chelsea tractor drivers moaning about having to pay an extra £5 to an illegal car wash gang exploiting another Romanian slave labourer.
If it is a regular route, maybe get to speak with the farmer and explain your side of things, like nicely. It might work. I don't see "enforcement" working.
Agree with the OP.
They are murder for this & also for close passing. If anyone should be giving more room than normal it's them with the size of their tyres right next to you but for a lot of them it seems too much to ask.
Most tractors are limited to 30mph so overtaking a road cyclist is tricky, particularly on tight country lanes. I tend to pull over and let them past, otherwise you just end up with a tractor plus a huge queue of pissed off drivers behind it.
As to the mud on the road, it's the countryside. Just like you don't have a bike wash available when you come off the trail, they don't have tractor washes in every field. Dealing with mud and run-off from fields is the downside of living in the countryside and all those other benefits you get. Same with thorns and rubbish from hedge cutting and, in my case, coming round a corner on a descent to find the road full of pigs. Or getting covered in cow shit. Or being chased by cows. Or having deer appear from nowhere.
If you live somewhere rural you make adjustments for local conditions. I've never encountered an issue with mud on the road in years of cycling in and around the New Forest. Diesel spills, now that's another matter...
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