Evolution and Application of the Brazilian Legislation for the Traffic of Tractors on Public Roadways

The evolution of Brazilian agricultural mechanization increased, within with the cultivated area, searching to satisfy the demand for food. The agricultural tractor is the main source of power in meeting this demand. However, due to its increasing use, incidents have been observed in public roadways. The lighting and signaling elements of these machines are critical in preventing these occurrences, and there is, in Brazil, legislation in this area, the CONTRAN (National Traffic Council) and the Ministry of Labor. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the evolution and application of the Brazilian law for the lighting and signaling requirements for tractors on public roads traffic and relate these aspects to scientific studies relevant to the topic. Through the study, it was observed that there was an evolution in the Brazilian legislation, especially since 2014, with the term of CONTRAN Resolution no. 454. From this evolution, there was misalignment between the items required by the different legislative bodies on the subject and, in addition, the provisions from both the CONTRAN and the Ministry of Labor have no technical and/or dimensional requirements relative to the location of items on the machine. The scientific studies analyzed showed that there was also progress in the implementation of legislation in new agricultural tractors. However, it is not enough for the machine to leave the factory in a proper way, it must be maintained in working conditions for its operation. Finally, it was observed the need for the implementation of awareness campaigns on the context of road safety and the use of methods for assessing their effectiveness.