The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 define agricultural tractor as a four-wheeled, mechanically driven vehicle made to carry agricultural products or labour in the field. An agricultural tractor is not used as a transport vehicle. Manufacturing of agricultural tractors raises a number of legal issues if legal requirements are not properly complied with. If appropriate measures are not followed during the manufacturing process, these bulky vehicles could pose environmental risks leading to violation of various environmental and other laws.

Handling tractors and their engines, reducing engine working time at low engine speed and unsuitable high torque, increasing engine speed, and maintaining normal engine heat condition are all crucial from an economical and environmentally harmful impact perspective. According to a research conducted by Antanas Juostas & Algirdas Janulevic?ius (2009) Evaluating working quality of tractors by their harmful impact on the environment, fuel consumption is lower at lower engine speeds than at higher engine speeds. This could result in fuel savings of up to 5%.

In order to prevent legal issues from arising, one needs to comply with the legal requirements pertaining to manufacturing of agricultural tractors.

Application for Type Approval of Agricultural Tractors

As per the Automotive Industry Standard, the application for type approval of agricultural tractors must be accompanied by certain documents, as necessary for the provisions for which compliance to Central Motor Vehicle Rules is desired. If these documents are not available when the prototype vehicle is submitted, the manufacturer must submit them as soon as they are, but no later than the start of commercial production. The maker must provide the pertinent information requested by the test agency if these documents are not available at the time of prototype testing. The relevant documents are as follows:

  • A list of the provisions with respect to which compliance is sought to be established.
  • The Technical Specifications in the formats listed in Tables 16 and 17.
  • Information regarding the location of chassis number and code for the month and year of manufacturing in Table 11 in accordance with Rule 122 of CMVR.
  • Copies of certificates or test reports of compliance to various provisions, which may have already been acquired from authorised Testing Agencies. The same can be attached along with Table 18.
  • Copies of earlier certificates or test reports for other models, if any, that can be used for proving compliance of the modelto be type approved. Reference can be laid on Table 9.
  • Available publications like Owner's Manual and Service Manual.

A failure in providing these documents will lead to the non-compliance of Central Motor Vehicle Rules.

The type approval shall be granted to those agricultural tractors which conform to the technical requirements.

Technical Specification

The details for technical specification should be submitted at the time of type approval. The format for brief technical specifications to be submitted by the manufacturer is given in Table-16, which serves as an enclosure to the certificate of CMVR compliance. The details of all the variants are to be covered in one certificate which shall be included in one document. Separate Tables and Annexures could be added if more information needs to be presented.

Table 17 provides the basis for detailed technical specifications for agricultural tractors. The details specified in this format must be submitted to the testing agencies if the application is being made to establish compliance against a specific provision, such as engine testing or type approval.

When changes in technical specifications of a model or variant do not have a negative impact on performance and remain within the specified limits/tolerances, the Type Approval (CMVR compliance) can be extended without further verification. If the changes affect some of the performance parameters, only those parameters must be tested.

Disclosure of Technical Specification is necessary for determining whether Road Safety Parameters are being adhered to or not by the vehicle.

Legal Requirements

Registration plate for agricultural tractors

Front: 285x45 mm

Rear: 200x100 mm

Steering Gear

The steering gear must be entirely mechanical or conform to the requirements of this International Standard for mechanical steering gear assisted by hydraulic, electrical, or pneumatic components. Even if any of these assisting components fails, the moving tractor must be able to steer itself.

The steering gear must be designed to meet any operational needs while also being easily accessible for maintenance and inspection.

The purely hydraulic steering gear and the tractor energy source defined in 3.2.5 must meet the following requirements:

  • One or more pressure-limitation devices shall protect the entire or a portion of the circuit from excessive pressure.
  • The pressure-limitation device must be set so that it does not exceed the manufacturer's maximum operating pressure p.
  • The conduits' characteristics and dimensions must be able to withstand four times the manufacturer's maximum operating pressure p.
  • The conduits' characteristics and dimensions must withstand four times the maximum operating pressure p as permitted by the pressure-limit devices, and they must be protected and arranged in such a way that the risk of damage by impact or interference is minimised and the risk of damage by rubbing is negligible.

Steering performance requirements

The tractor must be capable of performing the steering manoeuvres listed below.

  • The steering effort required to perform the test manoeuvres for normal steering shall not exceed 25 kg, and the duration to achieve the specified turning radius shall not exceed 8 s.
  • If the tractor energy sources fail and the assisted steering equipment is not connected to other equipment, the steering effort required shall not exceed 60 kg and the duration to achieve the specified turning radius shall not exceed 8 s.
  • For assisted steering equipment with a hydraulic connection between the hydraulic steering and hydraulic braking equipment, if both are supplied from the same tractor energy source and either system fails, the steering effort required shall not exceed 40 kg and the duration to achieve the specified turning radius shall not exceed 8 s.

Test

The performance of the manufactured agricultural tractors is analysed by certain test procedures. Testing is important to ensure performance, durability, efficiency, safety etc. associated with the vehicle. It is critical in avoiding any legal issues as far as possible.

Environmental norms

In general, TREM III A emission norms are applicable to tractors across various horsepower. TREM IV emission norms are applicable only to tractors with engines bigger than 50 HP.

Conclusion

The manufactures of agricultural tractors must comply with the legal requirements, technical specifications etc. and comply with the laws governing the vehicle to avoid legal issues.


Meta Title: Agricultural Tractors- Laws and Issues

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This blog aims to lay down the basic requirements and norms that should be kept in mind during the manufacturing process of agricultural tractors. Failure to follow the same may result in various legal issues.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.