did i get this wrong,i thought 7.5 tonners were banned from using the third lane on motorways from january this year.anyone know the real facts.
Speed limiters for 7.5t vehicles are to be fitted from 1/1/05 although it only applies to internationally used vehicles (national laws come into effect in Jan 2008), as a consequence people (myself included) assumed they were also to be banned form lane 3 on motorways. However the law has not yet changed so even if you are driving a limited 7.5t vehicle you could still use lane 3 if you wished.
So we can now have 3 trucks using all 3 lanes overtaking each other for a 4 mile stretch instead of the usual 2…lol, cant wait to see that one.
The only info I’ve seen on the matter is fron VOSA here
As usual, the governing bodies are keeping very quiet about applied or impending legislation - makes you think they want to catch people out 
As for three wagons abreast for 4 miles, I doubt you’ll ever see that…although 7.5’s are usually running 20+bhp/ton they have no torque so at the first sniff of a hill they die a death. What you will see is a lot more impatient/hacked off class1/2 drivers trying to get past them and a lot more abuse directed to 7.5t drivers 
I’ve had the dubious pleasure of driving a restricted 7.5 and I can tell you that they are a waste of space, in my opinion speed limiters will kill off 7.5t usage faster than waiting for all the old ‘got my licence with my packet of cornflakes’ brigade to die out
Jules
Good points Boots, the VOSA link doesn’t actually say whether the law has been implemented yet, however the highway code still only refers to goods vehicles over 7.5t being banned.
Vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tons banned only if fitted with a speed limiter (That is to say new vehicles registered from 01/01/2005 for international use)
Warrior:
did i get this wrong,i thought 7.5 tonners were banned from using the third lane on motorways from january this year.anyone know the real facts.
Basically, if it’s got a limiter fitted then it cannot proceed to the 3rd lane (same as HGV Class 2 and above). If it was built after 2005 then it will have a limiter fitted unless it was specifically stated that this would not go abroad and thus was removed.
In our company, the Southern Region have banned ALL our trucks from the O/S lane whatever age they are… Alas I think we’ve just been merged into that region 
Are you sure this law has come into effect yet?
Yes, apparently so. I am sure if you search the board you’ll find something 