A friend of mine has a Mercedes Vito Van, he was stopped by the Police, on a single carriageway, with National speed limit (40mph for most of us) for doing 65mph.
He has received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for speeding
The point of this is, the fact that he was told that the speed limit for his van, on this type of road is 40mph He pointed out to the boys in blue, that it was only a 1.5t van, their reply - âItâs still 40mph, you are classified as an HGVâ
I have checked the plated weights and they are-
Axle 1 - 1470kgs
Axle 2 - 1470kgs
I have checked the Highway Code and am sure that the speed limit for this type of van is 60mph and falls into the same catergory as a car.
Can anyone back me up, my mate even went to the local police station and was told the same as the police stated roadside.
He has gone NOT Guilty and is due in court next month.
cornish trucker:
I have checked the Highway Code and am sure that the speed limit for this type of van is 60mph and falls into the same catergory as a car.
John
before I looked at http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#103 I thought the speed limit for vans was 60mph and your friend was speeding by doing 65mph ( but only a little bit ! )
however the Highway code website says NSL 60mph Single carriageway applies to cars and car derived vans up to 2 tonnes maximum laden weight.
Anything above that weight seems to come into the category âGoods vehicles
(not exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight)â making the speed limit in this case 50mph
TMOHâ04 agrees - Speed limit should be 50 - so he was speeding but not as much as the policeman thought! -
IMHO the police are definitely wrong on this one. There was a letter in the motoring pages of the Daily Telegraph recently which said that only âcar derivedâ vans like a Renault Kangoo are subject to car speed limits. A Mercedes Vito van is not car derived so will be subject to lower speed limits but not HGV limits.
For a light commercial (under 7.5 ton gross) the limits are
The speed limit for that vehicle on a sigle carrigeway road is actually 50 mph, to quote the FTA book of road transport law âRigid goods vehicles (not being a car derived van) up to 7.5 tonnes gvw and not drawing a trailer. Motorway 70 mph, Dual carrigeway 60 mph, Other roads 50 mphâ
If your mate could convince the authoritys that his Vito is infact a car derived van then the limit would be 60 mph, I hope this helps. By the way I am just up the road in Lanson (Launceston).
Calv:
Not sure how your mate can proceed from here, but I would get a solicitor and get it to court, then surely the magistrate will throw it out, and hopefully award costs against the police.
The key thing here to me is the fact that the Merc Vito is actually available in âcarâ form as an MPV thingy which are definitely classed as cars.
If they pull you on the âitâs a van and you were using it as a van so therefore the 50mph limit appliesâ I would argue the fact that the MPV version of it has the same axle weights as the van so therefore you could also load the MPV with the same weight you were carrying in the van so whatâs the difference exactly, officer . I think youâd get away being 5mph over the limit as âyou were keeping up with the flow of trafficâ is always a winner (if there was traffic about of course ).
It shouldnât even come to that argument though as I think the fact thereâs an MPV car variety then therefore thereâs no question itâs a car-derived van and car speed limits apply.
Additionally, the fact that the copper doesnât actually know the law (deja-vu ) will hold some weight in court and even more so if youâve got your NIP saying you were exceeding the 40mph goods vehicle speed limit (SP10).
I think youâve got a good case in your defence but choose your solicitor carefully, thereâs a lot of bad-eggs about that are only interested in your ÂŁÂŁÂŁÂŁ and donât do a good job of arguing in your defence.
Do let us know how you go on and hope the above may be of use
Calv:
Not sure how your mate can proceed from here, but I would get a solicitor and get it to court, then surely the magistrate will throw it out, and hopefully award costs against the police.
Calv
he was still doing 65 in a 50 limit
Youâre right Denis, I misread that sentence and have now edited the original reply.
Further update, thanks for all your help so far. Yes my mate admits, whether commercial or car derived van, he was over the speed limit, what now varies is the ammount ie - if he is commercial, then he was 15mph over, if he is a car derived van, then 5mph over.
Have been on to Mercedes and now have there Vito mini mpv sales brochure sat in front of me, it states - âthis mini mpv is also available in van formâ
Therefore, as far as I am concerned, my mates Vito Van is a car derived van, what do you think
He has an appointment with the solicitor tomorrow, to see where he goes from here.
The Merc Vito is classed as a Panel Van, not a car derived van.
Therefore the 50 limit applies on single carriageway roads as many van drivers have found out to their cost, (especially Sprinter drivers⌠)
Also the limit on a dual carriageway is 60, not 70, as many panel van drivers seem not to realise.
I always think of a car derived van as one with access to the back of the engine block possible by lifting the bonnet. Examples are : â â â â â â van, astra van, citroen berlingo, volkswagen caddy.
Examples of Panel vans : transit, vito, sprinter , toyota hi.ace, vw transporter.
Also think of it this way : a car derived van only has one passenger seat alongside the driver , whereas you can usually squeeze 2 passengers alongside the driver in a panel van, usually, but not always, on a twin seat.
The police were wrong initially and should have said "The limit is 50 on this type of road, you are classed as a Light Goods Vehicle.
Good Luck, - it might be worth trying to baffle the magistrates as well ,seeing as the traffic police arenât too sure of their facts !!
Surely regardless of the fact he was speeding if the police get the prosecution wrong, i.e. 40mph & not 50 or 60 then its a wrongfull prosecution & as you cannot be prosecuted for the same offence twice. I would personally keep quiet untill court & then make the the police case look the foolish prosecution it is.
The mpv issue could muddy the water even more, leaving one little tax collecting piglet looking even more foolish.
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