PART 3
In 1974 the British government passed legislation that would pave the way for all new tractors sold in the country to be fitted with a safety cab that not only met new noise level requirements, but also provided a safety cocoon for the operator in the event of a rollover accident. The new legislation read as follows: From 1st June 1976, all new tractors will have to be fitted with safety cabs which satisfy (maximum) noise requirements and, from 1st September 1977, all new safety cabs will have to satisfy those requirements.
This meant that not only did new tractors sold in the UK need to be fitted with an approved safety cab that would keep the driver safe even in the event of a full turnover, but that the cab also had to reduce noise to a maximum level of 90 decibels at the driver’s ear. That might sound simple on paper, but just stop and think about it for a minute in the context of the 1970s.
The noise problem had become acute and operators of tractors fitted with safety cabs – that became
