On farm roads you will meet tractors, harvesters and other machines moving at walking pace. They are wide, may carry loads that stick out, and often turn into a field with little warning. The K53 warning sign for them is W352.
What W352 tells you
The sign warns that tractors or other slow-moving agricultural vehicles could cross or enter the road ahead. It can be used on any road, but you will mostly see it in rural areas. The action from the manual: look out for agricultural vehicles and slow down if they want to cross the road or are crossing it.
Do not confuse it with the regulatory sign that prohibits agricultural vehicles (R236). That one is round with a red border and is aimed at tractor drivers: they may not go past it.
Stuck behind a slow vehicle
Patience is the K53 answer. The overtaking rules from the manual:
- Overtake on the right, at a safe distance, and only move back to the left once you are safely clear.
- Never overtake when you are approaching the top of a rise, a curve, or anywhere your view ahead is restricted.
- You may not exceed the speed limit while overtaking.
- Never pass by driving on the shoulder or the verge.
Slow drivers often pull onto the shoulder to let traffic past. If one does, pass carefully, leave plenty of side space and do not cut back in early.
Entering and crossing roads
The rule for every driver coming out of a farm road is the same: you may not enter or cross a public road unless it is clear of moving traffic for a long enough distance to do so safely. When you pass a farm entrance, expect a slow vehicle that may have misjudged your speed.
Tractors on freeways
Tractors may not use a freeway, with one exception: tractors used to build or maintain the freeway itself.
Test yourself
These questions come from the K53TestsOnline question bank. Choose an answer to see if you are right.
Which of the following vehicles if any are allowed on a free-way?
Practise more rules of the road questions