Farmers who transport wide and abnormal roads are being reminded to apply for an agricultural dispensation from Police Scotland.
Earlier this year NFU Scotland secured a change to the rules surrounding agricultural vehicle movements.
Rather than having to notify Policy Scotland of each individual movement of certain types of machinery, farmers now only have to notifythe police body once every 12 months of expected movements within a 20-mile radius of their farm.
NFU Scotland is now reminding farmers to apply for this dispensation after reports a number of producers who have been stopped did not have the appropriate paperwork in place for their machinery.
To apply, farmers must send an e-mail to abnormalloadseast@scotland.pnn.police.uk with their name, address, and e-mail address.
They must also provide information on vehicle type and registration numbers, as well as width and length of the largest piece of equipment.
The union’s legal and technical policy manager, Gemma Thomson, said: “NFU Scotland has worked hard in conjunction with Police Scotland to reach this outcome and have a new system introduced. Farmers have made use of it, but there are others who have not applied for a dispensation.
“We encourage farmers to apply for a dispensation at the earliest opportunity for their wide and abnormal movements to avoid potential fines and penalties.
“While this approach removes the need for farmers to notify the police of each individual movement, NFU Scotland would like to remind farmers that they still have a duty to ensure that movements are safe and all legislation regarding escorts and vehicle marking are complied with.”
Police Scotland has the discretion to offer the dispensation for a shorter period and may choose to apply individual restrictions on farmers, such as not going on certain roads and avoiding travelling at certain times of the day.