Harvest safety shifts into gear at field day

There were more than 20 attendees at the Be Road Ready for Harvest Field Day at the Parkes Racecourse on 3 September. The event was organised by Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety Program and supported by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Transport for NSW, McPhersons Parts & Service, O’Connors Forbes, Parkes SES Unit and Parkes Rotary Club. Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils' road safety and injury prevention officer Melanie Suitor said anecdotal feedback from attendees was very positive. "Regulations are constantly changing, so events like these are important to ensure we provide information about how to safely and legally move agricultural machinery, combinations and trucks on the road network in the lead up to the busy harvest period," she said. "We had presentations about conditional registration, auxiliary plates, fatigue, load restraint, access, compliance, the National Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combination Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice and more. "We also discussed the operational requirements of the NSW Light Vehicle Agricultural and Indivisible Item Exemption Notice 2024. This notice allows consent for drivers of light vehicles to tow certain agricultural implements like augers. Ms Suitor said the highlight of the event was the interactive activities, where they showed participants how to use the quick reference guide for the Class 1 Agricultural Notice to work out what the travel requirements would be for a range of equipment. "Thanks to McPhersons Parts & Service and O’Connors Forbes who were very generous in loaning us the equipment for the display," she said. Participants could take home windscreen stickers that can be attached to their machinery that acts as a quick reference for travel requirements, such as pilots, lights and signage. "These were extremely popular," Ms Suitor said. “We also conducted a weighing display which explained gross vehicle mass and gross combination mass. Thanks to Parkes SES for bringing along their ute and a boat for this exercise." If you missed the event, it was recorded and the link to the recording will be published on the councils’ Facebook pages.