Some 159,982 tractor learner permits were issued in 2017, more than double the number issued in 2013, accorded to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

There were also 410,603 full tractor licences issued in 2017, marking an increase of 15% since 2013.

Under current law, a person may obtain a tractor licence from the age of 16 and the increase in tractor learner permits could indicate that young farmers are making use of the lower age limit to drive a vehicle.

Unless a cab has an additional seat, tractors are also the only vehicle, besides a motorcycle, that do not require a learner driver to drive in accompaniment with a fully licensed driver.

The number of learner trailer licences issued also jumped by 71% in 2017, but numbers were still low at just 13,377.

The number of full trailer BE licences issued fell by 14% over the past five years to 135,119.

The RSA attributed the increase in BE learner permits to a change in rules in 2013, which limited the design gross vehicle weight of a trailer drawn by a car.

This created a demand for permits, particularly from the agriculture sector, according to the RSA.

Penalty points are not applied if a driver is caught driving or towing with the incorrect licence, because the penalty is much more severe.

“If a person is apprehended driving without the appropriate driving licence for a category of vehicle or with an incorrect licence for the vehicle they are driving then they can be summonsed to court and prosecuted Under Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 and in addition to a fine, can be disqualified for this offence,” a Department of Transport spokesperson stated.

However, over half of farmers did not know that they required a BE licence to legally tow a trailer, according to a Red C poll carried out by the Irish Farmers Journal last year.

Read more

More than half of farmers do not have a trailer licence

Who can pull what trailer?