When i drove for P & O Ferrymasters (no digi tachs) it was co. policy to allow 60 mph. on down hills, but award in -house penalty points for exceeding 60.
(fair enough).
Now doing odd bits for Woodsides, Preston, sometimes on digi tach. which, it seems, flags speed in excess of the limited speed. Been told it is illegal to exceed the limiter set speed. (90kph) [55/56 mph].
Your thoughts & comments please gents & ladies…
I remember hearing youre allowed 60mph on a downhill run of motorway as long as it you dont do it for over 1 minute. Limiters should be set to 56mph, not 60 or 100kmh like more and more seem to be 
Limiters for vehicles over 12 tonnes are set at 85 km/h, however, you can ‘free power’ upto 90 km/h, which is when the limiter cuts in.
There is no problem in the UK with your vehicle reaching 96 km/h (60 mph), after all, that is the legal maximum that an hgv can travel at on the Motorway. Where Mr Police / VOSA gets interested is when the speed exceeds 90 km/h for more than a few minutes, that may indicate somebody has been playing with the speedlimiter.
It doesn’t matter what type of tacho your vehicle has; analogue or digital, the law is still the same. Where people get digitals wrapped around ther neck is that they produce an ‘overspeeding report.’ This relates entirely to the value set in the tacho at calibration by the tacho centre. There appears to be some debate at present as to whether they should set 85 or 90. All the report does is tell anyone who can be bothered to print it when the vehicle has exceeded the set speed. If the calibration centre set 30 km/h then you would have a report for every time you exceeded that speed for more than a minute 
. The speed setting in the digital tacho doesn’t have any effect on the speed limiter, they’re different bits of kit.
At the end of the day a couple of minutes around 96 km/h isn’t going to worry too many people. However, 30 minutes at that speed and expect the Ministry Man to take quite a different view on life.
Driveroneuk:
When i drove for P & O Ferrymasters (no digi tachs) it was co. policy to allow 60 mph. on down hills, but award in -house penalty points for exceeding 60.
(fair enough).Now doing odd bits for Woodsides, Preston, sometimes on digi tach. which, it seems, flags speed in excess of the limited speed. Been told it is illegal to exceed the limiter set speed. (90kph) [55/56 mph].
Your thoughts & comments please gents & ladies…
THE ROAD TRAFFIC ACT SPECIFIES THE SPEED LIMIT FOR VEHICLES OVER 7.5t is SIXTY MPH
It isn’t illegal to exceed the limiter set speed and if someone at your company tells you this, ask them if they’ve read the Highway Code and if they have, could they tell you what the speed limit is for a HGV on a motorway?
Usually shuts them up.
kindle530:
I remember hearing youre allowed 60mph on a downhill run of motorway as long as it you dont do it for over 1 minute. Limiters should be set to 56mph, not 60 or 100kmh like more and more seem to be
Can you tell me what the speed limit is for a HGV in the UK on a motorway?
Watch those speed infringments with the digi tacho .Vosa will ignore some but not all of the offences and if they so wish they can fine you for each individual speed excess . You get one minute to get your speed back down to 90 km/h , after that then you get an infringment .
Conor:
kindle530:
I remember hearing youre allowed 60mph on a downhill run of motorway as long as it you dont do it for over 1 minute. Limiters should be set to 56mph, not 60 or 100kmh like more and more seem to beCan you tell me what the speed limit is for a HGV in the UK on a motorway?
I know the speed limit on a motorway is 60mph, but the maximum speed a limiter can be set at is 56mph, whilst it isnt illegal to exceed 56, how can you spend all day or even 10 minutes sitting at 60mph, whilst legal in the book to do so, obviously means someone has been playing about with the limiter, thats my point. The other way a lot of people get around this is to flick a rocker switch or 2 on the back of the tacho head, so your tacho will show 56mph, but in reality you are sitting at around 58 or 60mph. I know this is a very common way of gaining a few extra mph.
kindle530:
Conor:
kindle530:
I remember hearing youre allowed 60mph on a downhill run of motorway as long as it you dont do it for over 1 minute. Limiters should be set to 56mph, not 60 or 100kmh like more and more seem to beCan you tell me what the speed limit is for a HGV in the UK on a motorway?
obviously means someone has been playing about with the limiter, thats my point. The other way a lot of people get around this is to flick a rocker switch or 2 on the back of the tacho head, so your tacho will show 56mph, but in reality you are sitting at around 58 or 60mph. I know this is a very common way of gaining a few extra mph.
Do people really do this?
so ive heard 
Shocking!!!
Seems only irish , “some” scottish and all 
continental vechiles are exempt .The rest of british wagons have to obey the e u law 
It isn’t illegal to exceed the limiter set speed and if someone at your company tells you this, ask them if they’ve read the Highway Code and if they have, could they tell you what the speed limit is for a HGV on a motorway?:
funny you should mention that Conor. His exact words were “Forget the HIghway Code” !! :roll
its the old two sets of laws game again
the speed limit for any vehicle towing a trailer is 60mph max on any road
BUT
lgv’s are also covered by euro wide laws that state the limited speed is 89 kph
and going over this is illlegal
silly i know . we had our digi training last month and the trainer ( exscruffy ) bikecop) covered it in very boring detail . think he was trying to scare the tm into making us do more training . he was self employed so i dont blame him
bagpuss:
its the old two sets of laws game again
the speed limit for any vehicle towing a trailer is 60mph max on any road
BUT
lgv’s are also covered by euro wide laws that state the limited speed is 89 kph
and going over this is illlegal
silly i know . we had our digi training last month and the trainer ( exscruffy ) bikecop) covered it in very boring detail . think he was trying to scare the tm into making us do more training . he was self employed so i dont blame him
There is no EU speed limit, just a law that says a vehicles power should be cut by a limiting device when it reachs 85kph, ±4 kph, the speed limit is determined by the type of road and the local speed regulations that apply to that road and the class of vehicle using it, and its only illegal to exceed these limits. Therefore 60mph downhill in a HGV on a UK motorway is kosher 
bagpuss:
lgv’s are also covered by euro wide laws that state the limited speed is 89 kph and going over this is illlegal
The speed limit and the limited speed are two different things and while it is an offence to exceed one it isn’t an offence to exceed the other. Provided the limiter hasn’t been tampered with there is no offence committed, and no fine payable, for travelling at speeds from 89km/ph up to and including 96 km/ph on UK motorways in a LGV because of speed limiter overrun.
Now i’ve had a chance to have a look at the print out. this is what it says:
1st line: >> 4 16.12.2006 10.39
2nd line: ( 1) 00h00
3rd line: o # uk / B601769 0
on the 3rd line the symbols i have used in this example are as follows:
o = steering wheel icon
Now interestingly, there is one of these showing different times for every day from 11.12.06 to 16.12.06. except that on the 14th the symbols are different and/or missing and on the 11th & 12th the “B” number is 601242 and 631201 respectively.
The first day I drove that unit, was also the 1st time my card had ever been in a tacho, was 18.12.06.
paul@midway:
Watch those speed infringments with the digi tacho .Vosa will ignore some but not all of the offences and if they so wish they can fine you for each individual speed excess . You get one minute to get your speed back down to 90 km/h , after that then you get an infringment .
I’d like to see them enforce it in a court of law. On hills such as Windy Hill and the downhill run from J22 on the M1, it’s possible to do more than 90KPH for a lot longer than a minute.
Conor:
I’d like to see them enforce it in a court of law. On hills such as Windy Hill and the downhill run from J22 on the M1, it’s possible to do more than 90KPH for a lot longer than a minute.
Is that not down to a lack of control by drivers?
Or don`t brakes,exhaust brakes or retarders work anymore?
bagpuss:
lgv’s are also covered by euro wide laws that state the limited speed is 89 kph
and going over this is illlegal
silly i know . we had our digi training last month and the trainer ( exscruffy ) bikecop) covered it in very boring detail . think he was trying to scare the tm into making us do more training . he was self employed so i dont blame him
Then the ex-biker cop doing the training didn’t have a clue what he was on about and that’s maybe why he’s an EX Trafpol.
THE SPEED LIMIT FOR HGVS WITHIN THE UK IS SIXTY MPH. Speed limiters are set at 90kph because of a European Directive which dictates mandatory fitment to all vehicles registered after 1/1/1988 and the limiter set to no more than 90KPH but that doesn’t alter the fact that the speed limit in this country is 60MPH.
Robbies Dad:
Is that not down to a lack of control by drivers?Or don`t brakes,exhaust brakes or retarders work anymore?
No, it’s not down to a lack of control by drivers. Why shouldn’t they do 60 on overrun when it’s perfectly legal to? Or are you yet another idiot who thinks the speed limit for HGVs is 56?
And no, retarders tend not to work that well. In fact, the only vehicles I’ve driven where a retarder will hold a loaded lorry down windy hill are Volvos.