National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 17968:2026. It supersedes PD CEN/TS 1459‑8:2018, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee MHE/7, Industrial trucks.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2026.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 21 September 2026.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 17968:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 150 “Industrial trucks - Safety”, the secretariat of which is held by BSI.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by April 2027, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by April 2027.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes CEN/TS 1459‑8:2018.

EN 17968:2026 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to CEN/TS 1459‑8:2018:

alignment to requirements of EN 1459‑1:2025;
update of normative references;
other minor changes, mainly editorial clarifications of existing requirements.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

This document covers general safety requirements and the means for verification of these requirements for rough-terrain variable-reach tractors (RTVR tractors).

All quantities are in SI units, and this includes metric units.

This document is a type C standard as stated in EN ISO 12100:2010.

This document is of relevance, in particular, for the following stakeholder groups representing the market players with regard to machinery safety:

machine manufacturers (small, medium and large enterprises);
health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organizations, market surveillance etc.).

Others can be affected by the level of machinery safety achieved with the means of the document by the above-mentioned stakeholder groups:

machine users/employers (small, medium and large enterprises);
machine users/employees (e.g. trade unions, organizations for people with special needs);
service providers, e.g. for maintenance (small, medium and large enterprises);
consumers (in case of machinery intended for use by consumers).

The above-mentioned stakeholder groups have been given the possibility to participate at the drafting process of this document.

The machinery concerned and the extent to which hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events are covered are indicated in the scope of this document.

When provisions of this type C standard are different from those which are stated in type A or B standards, the provisions of this type C standard take precedence over the provisions of the other standards, for machines that have been designed and built according to the provisions of this type C standard.

Two legislative frameworks involve RTVR tractors:

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 providing requirements for the type-approval of agricultural and forestry vehicles, also known as Tractor Mother Regulation (TMR), which RTVR tractors are homologated according to. A number of additional Regulations supplements this one, such as:
- Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1322/2014 with regard to construction and general requirements of agricultural and forestry vehicles;
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/208 with regard to functional safety requirements of agricultural and forestry vehicles;
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68 with regard to braking systems of agricultural and forestry vehicles;
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/985 as regards environmental and propulsion unit performance requirements for agricultural and forestry vehicles and their engines;
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/504 with regard to the administrative requirements of agricultural and forestry vehicles.
Directive 2006/42/EC as the permanently mounted equipment (PME), that RTVR tractors are equipped with, falls under the definition of machinery in Article 2 (a) third indent as “an assembly referred to in the first and second indents, ready to be installed and able to function as it stands only if mounted on a means of transport”.

CEN/TR 18369 [28], “Mapping between the clauses in EN 17968 and the European frameworks involving rough-terrain variable-reach tractors”, is available.

This document (i.e. EN 17968) is based on requirements of EN 1459‑1:2025.

1 Scope

This document specifies the safety requirements relevant to load-handling functions for rough-terrain variable reach tractors (RTVR tractors). This includes the safety requirements for their permanently mounted equipment (PME).

Fork arms are considered to be part of the PME. RTVR tractors can also be equipped with a variety of attachments (e.g. bale spikes, mowers, sweepers).

This document deals with all the significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to the operation of the PME of RTVR tractors when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer (see Annex A).

This document does not apply to:

rough-terrain variable-reach trucks covered by EN 1459‑1:2025;
slewing rough-terrain variable-reach trucks covered by EN 1459‑2:2015+A1:2018;
industrial variable reach trucks covered by EN ISO 3691‑2:2023;
lorry-mounted variable-reach trucks covered by ISO 20297‑1:2017;
RTVR tractors fitted with tilting or elevating operator position;
mobile cranes covered by EN 13000:2010+A1:2014;
machines designed primarily for earth moving, even if their buckets and blades are replaced with forks (see the EN 474 series);
RTVR tractors designed primarily with variable length load suspension elements (e.g. chain, ropes) from which the load can swing freely in all directions;
RTVR tractors designed primarily for container handling;
RTVR tractors on tracks;
RTVR tractors with articulated chassis;
front loaders covered by EN 12525:2000+A2:2010;
attachments.

Determination and declaration of sound power level is not addressed by this document.

This document does not cover sales literature.

Consistency of single lever (if fitted) and movement of the RTVR tractor when travelling in the forward direction is not covered by this document.

This document does not address hazards linked to:

operation of the RTVR tractor from a position other than the normal operating position or the remote control;
gas power systems;
gasoline engine systems.

This document does not address hazards which can occur:

when handling suspended loads which can swing freely (additional requirements are given in EN 1459‑4:2020+A1:2025);
when using RTVR tractors on public roads;
when operating in potentially explosive atmospheres (additional requirements are given in EN 1755:2024);
when operating underground;
when towing trailers;
when fitted with a personnel work platform (additional requirements are given in EN 1459‑3:2015 and EN 1459‑9:2021);
when using system capable of controlling the speed of the RTVR tractor as set by the operator (cruise-control).

This document does not provide a method of calculation for fatigue and strength of material.

This document is not applicable to RTVR tractors manufactured before the date of its publication.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Safety requirements and/or protective/risk reduction measures

4.1 General

4.2 Starting/stopping of engine and moving machine

4.3 Brakes

4.4 Electrical and electronic systems

4.5 Controls at the normal operating position

4.6 Remote control

4.7 Power systems and accessories

4.8 Stabilizing devices

4.9 Design requirements for maintenance purposes

4.10 Systems for lifting, tilting and reaching

4.11 Operator’s station

4.12 Operator access

4.13 Protective measures and devices

4.14 Stability requirements

4.15 Visibility

4.16 Lighting

4.17 Fire protection

4.18 Retrieval, transportation and lifting

4.19 Noise

4.20 Electromagnetic radiation

5 Verification of safety requirements and/or protective/risk reduction measures

5.1 General

5.2 Functional verification

5.3 Structural verification

5.4 Load holding verification

6 Information for use

6.1 General

6.2 Graphical symbols and warning

6.3 Instruction handbook

6.4 Marking of PME

6.5 Load chart

Bibliography