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In addition to several articles in this newsletter over the last year, several of our recent product council meetings have focused on efforts within our industry to adopt new brake standards for agricultural equipment. Increases in tractor, combine and self-propelled equipment size, as well as the machines’ ability to achieve higher road speeds, have been the most cited reasons for needing the new braking standards. 

Our Association has taken special interest in these discussions because of the suggested need to include braking requirements for towed equipment and discussion about requirements covering the interface between towing and towed equipment.

Our first concern was about the safety of adding brakes to equipment designed specifically for off-road operation and rarely operated on public roadways. Secondly, we worried about the possibility of requiring types of brakes that are currently not available and that would require major design changes for some towed equipment to comply. Finally, we knew of no cost/benefit analysis study. 

This Association has a long history of supporting the work of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) staff and committees. We continue to encourage member companies to be active in any ASABE committee which may affect equipment they manufacture. That said, memories are fresh of the U.S. Congress passing a massive highway funding bill which, on page 371 of the 584 page law contained a “non-discretionary mandate” requiring federal agencies to establish lighting and marking standards equivalent to a specific industry-approved ASABE standard for the lighting and marking of ag equipment operated on public roads. 

This week, ASABE issued a news release confirming what we reported earlier in this newsletter. ASABE announced it has initiated the development of five new standards for braking for agricultural equipment. The release says the “documents could have significant impact on some manufacturers, and equipment designers are strongly encouraged to monitor progress of the projects. The proposed standards will replace ANSI/ASAE S365.9, Braking System Test Procedures and Braking Performance Criteria for Agricultural Field Equipment. They will provide updated braking requirements, add allowance for higher-speed, light-weight towed vehicles, and define braking interfaces between towed and towing equipment.”

Every member company that manufactures even one implement that might be transported on public roadways should take the time to review this proposal, and if needed, comment on it.

Better yet, contact Scott Cedarquist at (269) 932-7031 or cedarq@asabe.org to find out how your company can become either a voting or observing member of this ASABE committee. We believe this would give your company the most direct information on committee actions and would also give greater weight to any comments and suggestions from you. 

While members of this ASABE committee have a deadline of April 18 to return their ballot with comments, public comments, including comments from shortline manufacturers, will be accepted for a few weeks beyond that deadline. 

The proposed new standards and comment forms are also available on our website at .