Plans to improve road safety by removing slow-moving vehicles from fastest routes sparked a surge in conversation from our readers.

The plans by Highways England could see tractors banned from major A-roads, including parts of Norfolk's A47.

Readers had a mixed response to the news, some writing comments of support for the plans, while others criticised the report. We had over 140 comments on the EDP Facebook post, and over 60 comments on the article itself.

AGAINST

Emily Kate wrote: 'Never been behind a tractor for very long, they all move out the way or will happily mount the bank to let you past. Motorists need to learn a little more patience, if you have a problem with tractors in Norfolk then perhaps its not the right county for you!'

A K Narey agreed, writing: 'This is a rural county and the agricultural vehicles on the roads are to be expected. Yes, it is frustrating to be held up behind a tractor but having to drive slowly is not the end of the world. Allow plenty of time for your journey and you will be OK. A little tolerance and courtesy from all parties would go a long way.'

Ross Patzelt wrote: 'As much as they are annoying and slow us down they put food on our table so have as much right to be there as us.'

FOR

However Rafe Kirkcaldy disagreed, writing: 'Best news I've heard since passing my test.'

Matthew Watson also shared that view, writing: 'What a great idea! I drive around Norfolk for a living and can safely say that majority of farmers who drive their tractors on the main roads are selfish,ignorant and seem to take great pleasure in seeing the queue in their wing mirrors ( if they ever use them ).'

Dan James wrote: 'How many thousands of hours are probably wasted per year in vehicles, many of which are commercial vehicles (or other people like staff of the NHS who have to visit people in the community etc), sitting behind tractors for mile after mile while the company who are paying them are paying them an hourly rate to take twice as long to get everywhere they need to? The A47 is very important and recognised as part of why Norfolk is held back as a place for business. Without decent rail networks and lack of enough duals the last thing needed is traffic stuck at 30 because inconsiderate tractor drivers won't move aside politely to let people get on with their day. Ultimately the point of the article is only a point because many of these drivers won't move aside. If they did it wouldn't have got this far.'

OTHER

Ali Culyer gave a different perspective: 'I haven't got a problem with tractors. I see or get caught behind them most days. The problem I have is when the tail back is as far as the eye can see and they have the opportunity to pull over and let people pass but they choose not too. I followed one for 8 miles yesterday there were plenty of places to pull in - he must have been able too see the huge tail back.'

Allan Drew agreed, writing: 'They play extremely important part of everyone's lives including live stock.' However he also added: 'However there are few tractor drivers that don't care about the miles of Qs that they cause. I used to drive them and I pulled over as it's safe to do so.' Mr Drew also had a suggestion for the issue: 'So the drivers that don't care should get fined that then might teach them to be considerate to the Qs that they cause, because like them everyone else has things to do, places to go, and appointments to keep.'

Finally, Chris Morfoot offered a thought-provoking opinion: 'People have no patience anymore. OK it can be annoying, but most agricultural machinery are doing short journeys to get to different parts of a farm and not on the main roads for too long. Guess we are all leaving everything to the last minute because of the way we all have to live our lives nowadays.'

• What do you think? Should tractors be banned from the A47 or is there another solution? Let us know in the comments or write to us via edpletters@archant.co.uk