I'm guessing you are from NY, by the subject line. I can't answer for NY, but I can say that it is probably similar to IL. In Illinois, it is unlawful to operate a farm tractor on a public roadway unless it is in conjunction w/ farming operations or being driven to a shop for repair. In fact, if an operator drives a tractor to town, say, because he/she has lost her driver's license through suspension or revocation, and isn't supposed to drive a motor vehicle, they can be arrested for driving while license revoked/suspended just as if it was a car or truck. You can extrapolate from that scenario that you have to have a driver's license to operate a tractor on a roadway if it is NOT in conjunction w/ farming...(which is illegal)... sounds like a catch 22 right?. The reality of it is, most police agencies do not enforce these statutes for a number of reasons such as:
1. They aren't familiar w/ the law.
2. They have more important things to do. Lets face it, there ARE more important things to do.
3. They have tractors themselves, (kinda like yours truly) and don't want to spoil a good thing.
4. The local prosecutor, a political figure, really doesn't want to tick off the voting public w/ petty offenses like that and prefers not to prosecute those laws. In fact, many local police agencies assist in traffic control for local tractor drives, w/ or w/o a permit from dept. of transportation, an example of which is when the local schools have FFA students drive their tractors in for tractor safety programs. (Ironic, isn't it? "lets have kids drive tractors into town to school to promote safety????" Yeah, I understand the concept, it just "sounds funny" when you think about it.) Where you get into trouble is if you are involved in an accident. The liability aspect would be a concern if you are illegally on the roadway. An officer may have no choice but to issue a citation in that instance. Of course, each state will have laws governing lighting, SMV display, etc which may or may not be consistent, but unless you are doing something patently unsafe, even those laws are rarely enforced. Your best source of information would be w/ the State Police post in your area. Most troopers spend more time in traffic enforcement than do local officers and are often more familiar w/ the more obscure statutes such as these. (Don't take this, wrong if you're a local officer reading this. I've been both a municipal officer and am now a state trooper...we just have different job functions in some areas.) I'm NOT advocating just ignoring the law and doing what you want...I think you need to know the potential risks involved, legally or in a civil context. Then, make your decisions accordingly. Bottom line...whatever you do, always worry about the safety aspects first. A ticket can be paid. Dead can't be undone.
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