WARNING

[Ducatista]

it can be very difficult to see mud on the road on a dark winter’s night

So what are you going to do about it?

A) Ignore this potential hazard that all your experience tells you might be there and just pretend it isn't.
B) Adjust your speed accordingly to take account of what all your experience tells you might be there.
C) Avoid riding at night
D) Upgrade your lighting.

[redken1]

it can be very difficult to see mud on the road on a dark winter’s night

So what are you going to do about it?

A) Ignore this potential hazard that all your experience tells you might be there and just pretend it isn't.
B) Adjust your speed accordingly to take account of what all your experience tells you might be there.
C) Avoid riding at night
D) Upgrade your lighting.

Ducatista, I would implement precautionary measure B. Not so easy however, when riding on unfamiliar roads at night and faced with a hazard such as a sea of mud mid-corner, as described by Dan.

In addition to the above, I would contact the Farmer/landowner responsible for depositing the mud on the road, politely drawing his/her attention to the potential hazard and the possible consequences of taking no action to remove it. Again, in a polite manner, I would remind them of their legal responsibilities in relation to cleaning the road on completion of operations.

The option to lodge a formal complaint with the police/LA is there should the offending farmer/landowner fail to make any effort to remove the mud.

IMO, the life of a biker is far more important than any inconvenience caused to a farmer/landowner for a short period at the end of the working day.


Extracts from the NFU website;

When field conditions become wetter, farmers must take care to avoid tractor and trailer wheels depositing mud on roads. This can result in a hazard to other road users and as well as the obvious insurance claim issues, has the potential to lead to serious injuries and death.
While most farmers are keenly aware of the risks associated with mud on roads, there is still some confusion about the law in this area and farmers' responsibilities to other road users.
Depositing mud on the road is an offence under the Highways Act. It is the legal responsibility of the farmer to ensure that every precaution is taken to avoid any mud being carried off the field. Accepting that in cultivating and harvesting operations some mud will inevitably end up on the road, it is important to make arrangements to remove it immediately.

[wiltshire builders]

Just like to point out that on Friday last week I had to drive a tracked excavator down a residential street and it was caked in mud.
I cleaned as much off as possible before and then spent half an hour cleaning up the mess on the road.
This is part of my job and a legal requirement. Why farmers think they're exempt and that the onus is put on the road user is beyond me.
There seems to be a deeply ingrained arogance in the farming comunity where they feel their job is harder/more important than anyone elses.

[redken1]

Just like to point out that on Friday last week I had to drive a tracked excavator down a residential street and it was caked in mud.
I cleaned as much off as possible before and then spent half an hour cleaning up the mess on the road.
This is part of my job and a legal requirement. Why farmers think they're exempt and that the onus is put on the road user is beyond me.
There seems to be a deeply ingrained arogance in the farming comunity where they feel their job is harder/more important than anyone elses.

The old ‘red herring’ ‘Townies don’t understand the rural way of life’ argument which often pops up from the farming community, and was used by the hunting fraternity at the time of the fox hunting debate, doesn’t wash with me I’m afraid.

I understand very well that mud on the road is no different to diesel spillages in terms of the potential risk to all road users, especially bikers, and could cause accidents resulting in serious injuries or death. Dan, farmers get away with it because too many of us accept/tolerate it.

[Geordie Stu]

I'm not 100% on this. However, I read somewhere that the Farmer is liable for cleaning the road as it is his land that is on the road therefore, liable. Like I said not 100% sure on the exact ruling.... :

[Moo]

I'm not 100% on this. However, I read somewhere that the Farmer is liable for cleaning the road as it is his land that is on the road therefore, liable. Like I said not 100% sure on the exact ruling.... :

I'm fairly sure you are right on this as I managed to claim against a local farmer quite a few years ago when I ended up in the hedge.

I was coming back home on my XT350 in the dark and the back started to slide which didn't alarm me too much until the front did the same and I ended up in the ditch. I knew who the farmer was and called him to tell him about the state of the road at which point he laughed. He stopped laughing when the police turned up and dragged him out of bed to clean it up after nearly putting their car in the ditch

The damage wasn't that much but as he thought it was so funny I claimed against him and got every single scratch fixed, new helmet, gloves, boots, jacket etc etc. That bit made me smile, a little bit!

[Conehead]

[quote author=GixxerStu link=1358442047/14#14 date=1358948689]I'm not 100% on this. However, I read somewhere that the Farmer is liable for cleaning the road as it is his land that is on the road therefore, liable. Like I said not 100% sure on the exact ruling.... :

I'm fairly sure you are right on this as I managed to claim against a local farmer quite a few years ago when I ended up in the hedge.

I was coming back home on my XT350 in the dark and the back started to slide which didn't alarm me too much until the front did the same and I ended up in the ditch. I knew who the farmer was and called him to tell him about the state of the road at which point he laughed. He stopped laughing when the police turned up and dragged him out of bed to clean it up after nearly putting their car in the ditch

The damage wasn't that much but as he thought it was so funny I claimed against him and got every single scratch fixed, new helmet, gloves, boots, jacket etc etc. That bit made me smile, a little bit!
[/quote]

Good one. 8-) 8-)

[Ducatista]

I would implement precautionary measure B. Not so easy however, when riding on unfamiliar roads at night and faced with a hazard such as a sea of mud mid-corner

Ken - I'm trying to understand what you are getting at here. Presumably you know the roads are unfamiliar and you also know it's night so there's no reason those factors shouldn't be planned in.

The last time I looked mud was brown and roads were black/grey and there was no trouble telling the difference with a headlight especially if there was a "sea" of it.

Are you saying you can't work out how far you can see there is clear road? So you're struggling with assesing the risk?
If it's on a corner I would have thought that day or night you know exactly how far round it you can see.
Or
Are you saying you can assess the risk but find it hard to ride at a speed consistent with stopping in that distance?

I admit I find the latter hard (I suspect we all do), but I'd like to get to the bottom of what you are getting at because currently it makes no sense.

You either decide to be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear and be largely safe OR you decide to take a chance regarding what's round the corner.

In the first case you stop before the mud, in the second you blame the farmer - which doesn't really help if you've been run over in the process.

If you find things difficult to see at night (I do) then of course you have to factor that it.
Personally I am short-sighted, long sighted and I have astigmatism and I don't think I see well at night, but I can still tell when I can still distinguish between when I am satisfied the road is clear and when I'm not even if my vision is not as good as other people's.

[Ducatista]

As a biker with 36 years experience I could see how mud on the road mid-corner could catch an unsuspecting rider out.

because they are going too fast to stop in the distance they can see to be clear?
Is that what you are saying?
It's unfortuante if there is a sea of mud in the wrong place I agree and we all have to learn, but if they can't stop in time it's something they could have avoided if they ridden in accordance wiht the highway code right?
That's a choice right?
Of course it's more difficult when you're inexperienced, everything is.
Do you think we should not discuss it.
Personally I think it's worth if if ONE single person perhaps considers it.

but don’t make assumptions about my riding behaviour

I have only gone on what you have said.

If you are saying it's not easy all the time, then I agree (I've been practicing since 1986 and still going

[Conehead]

Out of interest, who would be responsible for the mud on the road during the Dorset steam festival.