Here’s a pic of said cleats:
Now, here’s a pic of a steam tractor from about a century ago, on steel:
http://oldtractorpictures.com/veryoldtractors/
The one pulling stumps had the type of cleats that, if that were what was on the roads, I’d agree that it could/would tear up the roads in short order. But bar clears on rubber belting around steel? It’s not as bad as the DA would like to imagine.
Here’s another shot of the old “real steel wheels” of that day;
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i8/dgwparfitt/images2/Lauson_Bergeijk08.jpg
Those, I could believe would rip up the pavement. As I’m looking at the bar cleats on rubber belting around a steel rim, I’m unconvinced of claims of road damage. Looking at the pics of the old-style steel wheels with those wicked spikes... I’d need no convincing to believe that they’d tear the hell out of a paved road.
As the court case said “Lack of evidence” supported the claim of damage to the roads, and the ordinance ignored other, PROVEN causes of damage to roads, like big grain carts that are wildly over-weight on a single axle.
In all fairness, they don’t usually take those carts down the road loaded. Those are for field transport.
From the combine to the truck. That way, the combine never has to stop.
Farmers would be more concerned that running loaded on the pavement would be hard on those $4000 tires.
