Hey everyone, just thought id let you know im safe and well as im sure you’ve all been concerned.
Well the 03 Sprinter is now a 55 Atego, look out lane 3…
Absolutely …
make the most of it speed limiters coming in soon for 7.5 tonners set at 90kph
hitch:
make the most of it speed limiters coming in soon for 7.5 tonners set at 90kph
so 7.5t will be limited to 56, as opposed to the motorway 60 limit for over 7.5t…■■ ok 
Well over 7.5t’s are currently limited to 56 (85kph) anyway (limit is 60mph) 7.5’s have a 70 limit at the mo, a 90kph limit will be ‘about’ 60mph
But the weight is pretty academic as you could have a 7.5 tonner thats actually bigger than a 12 tonner!
Don’t forget that up to 12 tonnes (IIRC) the limiter can legally set at 60mph, and many are…Domestic rules (not to be confused with Domestic Hours Rules) give the limiter setting as 60mph - the 56 thing is an EU rule and only applies over 12 tonnes. 
Unless, of course, I’m out of date (not done the rigid thing for 5 years now), in which case feel free to correct me… 
I’ve got the exact rules somewhere but to keep it simple, After 1st Jan 2008 all lorries > 3.5 tons, = 90 kph. ANY vehicle with more than 8 seats irrespective of weight = 100 kph. So 03 Sprinter can use that 3rd lane for 2 years yet! No legal requirement to have 70 mph limiter fitted either
daveb0789:
So 03 Sprinter can use that 3rd lane for 2 years yet!
AFAIK just because a vehicle has a requirement for a speed limiter doesn’t mean it will be automatically banned from lane 3, they are seperate pieces of legislation (although I stand to be corrected)
mrpj:
daveb0789:
So 03 Sprinter can use that 3rd lane for 2 years yet!AFAIK just because a vehicle has a requirement for a speed limiter doesn’t mean it will be automatically banned from lane 3, they are seperate pieces of legislation (although I stand to be corrected)
True but they will have to be looked at. How is a 3.5 tonner in lane 3 limited to 56 mph going to overtake my 62 mph 20 ton coach in lane 2?
daveb0789:
How is a 3.5 tonner in lane 3 limited to 56 mph going to overtake my 62 mph 20 ton coach in lane 2?
im sure they will find a way… 
as for me, being an owner driver with a nervous eye on the MPG, i spend most of my time (apart from the odd screamer) nice and relaxed at 56 in lane 1.
wish i could say the same for the dozens of artics that scream past me whilst supposedly “limited” to 56. (to be honest i did not know that it was a legal requirement for the limiter, thought it was put in place for economy by the operators but i live and learn)
there must also be something compelling about my back doors as many wagons seem to want to get close enough to lean out and touch them before they angrily swerve around.
there is definitely a feeling of resentment towards vehicles that CHOOSE to take it easy…
To be honest, I haven’t been overtaken by many artics. I think most are correctly governed - How accurate is your tachograph? It might be an idea to accurately measure your speed using satellite navigation. There are probably a few trucks than can do 58 mph, so if you cruise at a true 60 mph (GPS) that will keep you out of harms way. Thats what I’d do in my car anyway. In the coach we go as fast as we can (62 mph) Its not my fuel and passengers want to get to where they are going as fast as possible.
Even GPS isnt that acurate TBH. The military versions are but the handicaped civi versions arent.
dennisw1:
Even GPS isnt that acurate TBH. The military versions are but the handicaped civi versions arent.
It is very accurate (down to 0.5 mph) if you are travelling at a constant speed. The so called handicapping is called Selective Availability but this was disabled in May 2000.
Read pocketgps.co.uk/modules.php? … GPS+Theory
and
gpsinformation.net/main/gpsspeed.htm
for more information.
there is normally around 2-3 mph variation at these speeds.
a friend took his car on the track - the speedo said 130 and gps said 115. quite a difference.
daveb0789:
It is very accurate (down to 0.5 mph) if you are travelling at a constant speed. The so called handicapping is called Selective Availability but this was disabled in May 2000.
Even with Selective Availability turned on, GPS is still very accurate at measuring a constant speed, even if the position is up to 100 m out.
And military GPS is still more accurate than the un-handicapped civil one - they use a different frequency, but the system is encrypted to restrict its use.
03sprinter:
there is normally around 2-3 mph variation at these speeds.
a friend took his car on the track - the speedo said 130 and gps said 115. quite a difference.
Car speedos overread quite badly at higher speeds. Autocar magazine road tests highlight this!
daveb0789:
To be honest, I haven’t been overtaken by many artics. I think most are correctly governed - How accurate is your tachograph? It might be an idea to accurately measure your speed using satellite navigation. There are probably a few trucks than can do 58 mph, so if you cruise at a true 60 mph (GPS) that will keep you out of harms way. Thats what I’d do in my car anyway. In the coach we go as fast as we can (62 mph) Its not my fuel and passengers want to get to where they are going as fast as possible.
You don’t happen to work for National Express do you, dave?
I used to work for another well known coach company too 
Basically car speedos are calibrated to be accurate at about 40mph, the further you stray from 40 in either direction the more inaccurate they become. This isnt a problem for the every day motorist as at 70mph they’re only a couple of MPH out and at low speed, say 10mph who cares!
You vehicles maximum speed is determined by your gearing and the maximum engine revs. Acording to this data on my car it can reach 100mph, yet the speedo goes to 110 and many people report going off the clock on identical cars at track days.
If you buy an ex-police traffic car or the speedo from one these are normally properly calibrated, so that they can be used as evidence in the event of them following someone.