What We're Working On» December 2017

Farm vehicle regulations are numerous and often difficult to find and understand.  Detailed below are just a few of the regulations governing the transportation of farm products and the movement of farm vehicles on the roadway.

• The The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued proposed guidance clarifying that implements of husbandry are not “commercial motor vehicles” (76 FR 50434, August 15, 2011); therefore, implements of husbandry are not subject to Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, but are instead regulated under the laws found in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
• Implements of husbandry are vehicles designed and adapted exclusively for agricultural, horticultural, or livestock raising operations, including farm wagons, wagon trailers, or like vehicles used in conjunction with farming (625 ILCS 5/1-130). 
• A driver’s license is not required to operate an implement of husbandry on public roads from farm-to-field or field-to-field (625 ILCS 5/6-102). 
• The driver of any motor vehicle operated by a farmer is not required to have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) when such vehicle is being used to transport the farmer’s own: agricultural products; implements of husbandry; or farm supplies to and from a farm, as long as such movement is not over 150 air miles from the originating farm.  This does not apply to the driver of any motor vehicle being used in a common or contract carrier type operation (625 ILCS 5/6-507). 
• Implements of husbandry are not subject to vehicle registration (625 ILCS 5/3-402) or mandatory insurance requirements (625 ILCS 5/7-601). 
• Implements of husbandry are generally exempt from weight limits (625 ILCS 5/15-101(b).)  Exceptions would include wagons, fertilizer buggies, and nurse tanks, which are generally limited to 36,000 pounds gross vehicle weight with no axle limit (625 ILCS 5/1-130) and (625 ILCS 5/3-809(a).)   
• Implements of husbandry are not required to have the markings of commercial vehicles.  Example: some wagons may not have turn signals.  Implements manufactured prior to 2003 are treated differently than those that are manufactured after that time. Standards for markings on farm equipment and nationally-recognized industries are set by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.  (625 ILCS 5/12-205 and 12-205.1)
• Slow Moving Vehicle emblems are scientifically engineered and legally protected to specifically indicate the presence of a slow moving vehicle.  Improper use of the emblem (i.e. as a driveway marker) distorts the meaning of the symbol and is illegal (625 ILCS 5/12-709(d).)