Ouse Valley Group

Based in Bedfordshire, Cradle of the UK Tractor Industry

of the National Vintage Tractor & Engine Club

www.ovtc.org.uk

2013 Summer Newsletter

To contact the Editor, with your articles, news items, items wanted, items for sale, or anything else :-

Donald Bowler, 16 Rooktree Way,
Haynes, Bedford
MK45 3PT / jadon(AT)picnic.wanadoo.co.uk
Phone me before 9 pm 01234 381525
Or hand it to me at a Club meeting

NB. This newsletter is both posted out to Members, and also placed on the Club Website - www.ovtc.org.uk. To reduce the likelihood of automated web crawlers finding Club Member e-mail addresses, and then spamming them, the @ in e-mail addresses has been replaced with an (AT) - so, if e-mailing someone, just put in a @ instead of the (AT).

The Date for our St Judes Farm, Haynes,

Working Rally has been moved to a Week Later than usual, to Sat/Sun 28/29 Sept 2013

Theme is Fordson, Ford & Their Conversions

The Chairman’s Ramblings

Now into my second year as Chairman, and doing well I hope, where did the first year go? A long cold winter, we had some good winter meetings at the Bowls Club, thanks to Donald, plus a visit to Maskells to look at their collection, where there was a good turn out as well. I have been quite busy at work and down the farm so not been able to get out much so far this year.

Shane bought a tractor so we've been sorting that out so he can use it, just about done now. We had to re-drill the wheat like a lot of farmers have done, plus we have set peas this year, for the pigs. By the time you read this we will have had our last BBQ at Howard’s Place, many thanks to Howard and his family for entertaining us so royally over the years. We are looking for a new venue for next year, please let me know if you can help on that.

I have had to cancel the road run on July the 7th at Maulden but will try to arrange something else later in the year. There is a road run organised by Silsoe Young Farmers and a fun day at College Farm, Lower Gravenhurst, on 30th June 2013. You are all invited to join in, contact Alice Redman, 01525 860717.

At the last Committee Meeting the Committee decided to look at the Winter Meetings to see if we could do things better/different, cut down on speakers, have “talk among yourselves nights”, quiz night, and a party at Christmas. Let us know your thoughts please or maybe you could do a talk on what you have been doing, Donald’s the man to talk to for that.

At this year's rally we are looking for toy tractors for the kids to play on in the ring when not in use. I was wondering if you could help? Please can you take a look in the back of your garages or sheds, do you have any children’s pedal tractors or diggers that you would be willing to donate to the club, or sell for a small fee? If yes, please contact me or Sarah (07900373163, sarah.willis79(AT)gmail.com) We are also looking for a tug of war rope to buy or loan as I am looking to put more on in the ring this year, don’t be shy, come and play with your tractors to make it better for the public.

Have you looked at the new web site www.ovtc.org.uk? Annamarie is doing a great job for us. Let her have your photos or comments on what you've been doing tractor wise, and she can put them on the site for you. We are also on Facebook.

The Working Rally will be with us soon, I hope you are looking out for something to bring along, we also want people to give a hand setting up and taking down the rally, all help gratefully accepted.

Well, that's it for now see you around and about some time, thanks Keith.

2013 May Visit

The club had a very enjoyable visit to the Maskell Museum in Wilstead on Thursday 9th May, where we were hosted by Darren & Richard Maskell and some of their relatives and friends. Light refreshments were provided, and the Club made a donation to the Maskell’s chosen Charity, which is Medical Detection Dogs - http://medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/, who happen to be based in Milton Keynes. Medical Detection Dogs train dogs to be Cancer & Bio-Detection Dogs, or as Medical Alert Dogs.

A Joke, Courtesy of The Chairman, via Facebook

A man drove to the farm in the village & knocks on the door. A boy came to the door, “Is your dad in” said the man? “No” said the boy, “He has gone to the shops with mum”. “Is your older brother in then”? “No, he went with them”. Well said the man, “Could you tell your dad I need a word about your brother getting my daughter pregnant”? The boy replied “Dad charges £500 for the bull & £50 for the boar, but I don’t know what he charges for my brother services”.

Update from National on the Yellow Card Public Liability Policy

Sarah Willis, our Secretary, has received from Brian Chester, Chairman of the NVTEC, an update on the Yellow Card Public Liability Insurance Policy. She wants all of our Club Members to see the latest information :-

Clarification of our Yellow Card Public Liability Policy that The NVTEC hold with the NFU

The NVTEC has held this Public Liability Policy for many years and historically this was sufficient for all exhibits on the rally field. First of all it was offered to those groups who wished to take it up as some groups had their own schemes that they had set up for their members. Due to changes in legislation, if the Club were to continue to offer Public Liability insurance to our members, the way we could offer this cover and the type of machines covered by Public Liability Insurance had changed. I will deal with these but probably not in the order that they became law.

Firstly due to changes in Insurance Law we were not allowed to “sell” Insurance to our members, the only way the NVTEC could continue to offer its members Public Liability Insurance was to offer it to every member and for it to be part of the membership package which is how it is today and why it is part of the membership and why membership of the NVTEC is not available without taking the Public Liability Insurance.

There are several similar policies available from the Vintage clubs around the UK, some have a slightly different wording to our Policy, the most picked up on is that our club Policy says “Agriculturally related” not “any Vintage exhibit”, which is stated in some of the other available public liability policies, we have specified this to be a bit more restrictive in the type of exhibit that is covered, being a club that is mainly agriculturally related. Anyone who has a specific query about an exhibit that they have or are unsure as to whether or not it would be covered under the NVETC/NFU Public Liability Policy, they are asked to contact Wright and Wescott who are the NFU agents who we deal with about this policy and whose number is given at the end of this article.

Secondly due to changes in the Road Traffic Acts, any place to which the public has access becomes a public place and self-propelled vehicles in such a place need Road Traffic Act Insurance, until then Tractors on the rally field could be insured using Public Liability Insurance. This is why today all self-propelled vehicles on a rally field need Road Traffic Act Insurance. The change in legislation was primarily to stop “boy racers” racing and burning rubber in car parks, but had an effect on the use of tractors on a rally field, as the rally field then became a Public Place.

Since then it has been quite usual for the subject of insurance to crop up at National Executive meetings, with often the comment “Not again”, so I have tried to get an answer from the NFU as to what type of machine is covered by the Public liability Policy and what is not.

The NVTEC/NFU Public Liability Policy covers the following :-

1.  All members at any NVTEC meeting or event.

2.  All Stationary engines that are exhibited at an event in the UK, where the exhibit is exhibited in accordance with the NVTEC safety code.

3.  Any driven machinery worked by a stationary engine, for example pumps, mills, sheep shearers etc. exhibited in accordance with the NVTEC Safety Code.

4.  Any agriculturally related machinery displayed at an event that is not attached to a tractor or displayed on its own, for example a seed drill displayed at a rally or a plough disconnected from its tractor at a ploughing match.

5.  Any vintage display mostly agriculturally related, tools, equipment etc. that is displayed in its own right.

6.  A vintage tractor that is undergoing restoration, THAT IS NOT capable of moving itself or in running order.

7.  A two wheeled Pedestrian controlled tractor that is controlled by the person walking behind it. Please see below about putting a trailer on these tractors.

Anything else on the rally field requires RTA insurance, as per the Road traffic Act 1988, “A person must not use a motor vehicle (or other public place) unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance or such a security in respect of third party risks as complies with the requirements of this Part of the Act”. A motor vehicle is defined as any mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.

There are several anomalies that raise their heads in our hobby, such as :-

1. Small ride on tractors.

2. Small self-propelled tractors built like a trailer with a powered drive wheel at the front like a Lister Auto truck.

3. Small horticultural type crawlers like a Ransomes MG crawler.

4. Agricultural Crawler tractors that have never been used on the road and are not registered with DVLA, International TD6 or Caterpillar D

5. Steel wheel tractors that have never been registered for road use or never used in this country having been recently imported

6. Pedestrian controlled tractors that are fitted with a trailer and operated by a driver SAT on the trailer

The National Executive have had questions regarding the above classes of vehicles listed above as nos. 1-6, so I set out to try and remove the confusion that surrounds these classes of vehicles. It is all too easy to say that a steel wheeled tractor or a crawler tractor is not road registered and has never been used on a public road, however it IS a SELF PROPELLED machine and as described requires Road Traffic Act Insurance when used on a Rally field.

The NFU has recently confirmed with me that ALL vehicles that fall under classes 1-6 above NEED RTA cover when exhibited on a rally field.

I had a further question from a group member who put forward the question that his tractors were not road registered and would it be possible for him to obtain cheaper insurance due to the fact that his tractors were not used on the road, unfortunately the answer is that the rally field/event is deemed as a public place and as such vehicles displayed on such a place NEED Road Traffic Act Insurance.

The minimum cover that a member needs to comply with the Road Traffic Act is Third Party Insurance Cover.

There are several firms who specialise in insurance for older Vehicles especially tractors, Firms such as the NFU, Footman James, Peter James Insurance and Cherished Car Insurance can all provide quotations for Vintage tractors, it is a good idea to get a quote from two firms to get an idea of the sums involved.

One point that is often overlooked that many tractors are not insured, as the owner will not be taking them to a rally in that year however please remember that should anything happen to the tractor when it is in storage damage or woe betide fire then there could not be a claim and the owner would have to bear the loss. Tractor insurance often costs in the region of £30 per year per tractor, is £30 too much to pay for peace of mind when your tractor is stored in your shed, should anything happen!!

I hope that this article will answer most queries that members have regarding the type of cover that is need in conjunction with exhibiting at rallies, shows, displays and ploughing matches in the UK.

Any member who has any questions regarding insurance and the type of cover required is asked to contact Wright and Wescott in Wooton-under Edge Gloucestershire who handle the NVTEC NFU Public Liability policy and are knowledgeable in Vintage Vehicle insurance Their telephone number is 01453 842386 or 01453 569668, e-mail .

Brian Chester, Chairman NVTEC, NVTEC 2013©

37th Working Rally, St Judes Farm, Haynes, Sat/Sun, 21st/22nd Sept 2013

The theme for this year’s rally is Fordson, Ford & Their Conversions. Blue Force, the (relatively) new Club for such tractors has asked if they and their Members may come along and show some off their tractors. All other tractors and exhibits will of course be equally as welcome as in other years. If you have a Ford, Fordson or a Conversion then please being it along, and if you have one that is currently in bits or not running then it would be great if it was ready for the Rally.