All of the most commonly used fuel types for powering vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, farm equipment, and major, moving appliances is highly combustible. As such, there are a number of rules and regulations pertaining to the storage and use of these solutions. If you own farm equipment in the UK, then you should have a comprehensive understanding of red diesel law. The information that follows is guaranteed to help you out.
It is important to note that you can be fined and face other penalties for breaking any laws pertaining to this fuel, even if you aren’t aware of the fact that you’re breaking the law. As such, if you use red diesel in any environment or capacity, it is your responsibility to learn all of the related regulations. This way, you can make sure that you are fully compliant in terms of the vehicle that you use, how you store your fuel, and how you dispense it among many other things.
There are also a number of grey areas within these laws which can make the process of learning and applying them all the more confusing. One example is the manner in which vehicles that rely on this particular type of fuel can be used. In most cases, this fuel type is generally reserved for things like riding mowers, tractors and many other forms of landscaping and farm equipment. Due to this fact, it is not approved for use in vehicles that will be used on public roads.
This is where the grey areas come in. You might have a tractor that uses this fuel that needs to be taken across the road in order to reach another tract of farmland that belongs to you. Taking the tractor onto the public road is against the law, but if you are cited en route to your intended destination, you can simply explain your circumstances to the citing officer. In many cases, the legal authority will waive the law due to the short nature of your jaunt.
When grey areas exist, however, you can always do better than to simply take action and hope for the best. You might want to try calling in to a local regulatory body to get advice on your circumstances. If these entities assert that law enforcement agencies are likely to use leniency in this instance, then you can simply drive the tractor across the road. If they do not, however, it is definitely in your interests to make other arrangements.
There are, however, a few vehicle types that are exempt from this particular area of law. This would be vehicles that can safely use red diesel on the road. Vehicles that are classified as being exempt are those that are being used for farming work or forestry qualify for the exempt status.
When moving your own personal tractor across the road, you will fall into a grey area. If, however, your business is using a tractor for road work, the laws do not apply. These vehicles are frequently used too help in the gritting of public roadways. They can also be used with red diesel fuel if cutting hedges and plants in public areas.
There are also a number of light agrarian vehicles that also fall into the exempt class when working on public projects that have received approval from the related authorities. These include telehandlers, gritting machines and filling shovels. These vehicles, however, must weigh 1000 kgs or less. Cranes and bulldozers are permitted to use this fuel type as well, so long as they are not carrying excessively heavy loads in the process.
