I read Lucy’s Myth Buster article in December’s truck & Driver Magazine and I make her right - if Trainers don’t pass one the correct information where does that leave the poor driver.
I suspect the information/myth (call it what you will came from this…
dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/S … ations.pdf
The piece in question refers to Speed limits for LGV’s being lowered sometime AFTER Jan 1st 2008.
However, if the national speed limit for LGV’s has been lowered from 60mph to 56 I haven’t heard of it!
Apologies to those who haven’t seen Lucy’s article yet but being a techno-phobe I haven’t figured a way of pasting it on here 
Regards Pete
Express Pete:
if Trainers don’t pass one the correct information where does that leave the poor driver.
In the MMTM zone 
As there is no testing for the periodic driver cpc and the trainer only needs to have proof that they have been ‘doing this’ before then this type of thing is bound to occur sooner or later.
Can you imagine a college that is JAUPT approved and puts on a tacho course with a qualified tutor that ‘had a good read of 561/2006’ - who is to say that the tutor has understood the regs and is interpretating them correctly ■■?
The tutor has all the relevant teaching qualifications but there are no exams to see if the drivers have got it correct which might have given some indication as to the competency of the tutor on this subject.
Or have I missed something here ■■
ROG:
Express Pete:
if Trainers don’t pass one the correct information where does that leave the poor driver.In the MMTM zone
As there is no testing for the periodic driver cpc and the trainer only needs to have proof that they have been ‘doing this’ before then this type of thing is bound to occur sooner or later.
Can you imagine a college that is JAUPT approved and puts on a tacho course with a qualified tutor that ‘had a good read of 561/2006’ - who is to say that the tutor has understood the regs and is interpretating them correctly ■■?
The tutor has all the relevant teaching qualifications but there are no exams to see if the drivers have got it correct which might have given some indication as to the competency of the tutor on this subject.Or have I missed something here ■■
pardon
I haven’t read the magazine article but the VOSA Handout says that the speed limit will come down.
It already has for bus and coaches! Down to 56mph along with the lorry 
They are not allowed in the third lane but are allowed to go faster than us 
The only reason the speed limiter is set at 56mph is because the EU legislation says it must be set at 90kmh. In some countries the speed limit is still 50mph. It would require a new law to bring our motorway speed limit down to 56mph
Wheel Nut:
I haven’t read the magazine article but the VOSA Handout says that the speed limit will come down.It already has for bus and coaches! Down to 56mph along with the lorry
The only reason the speed limiter is set at 56mph is because the EU legislation says it must be set at 90kmh. In some countries the speed limit is still 50mph. It would require a new law to bring our motorway speed limit down to 56mph
And as we’ve seen new laws can be made within an hour by nothing more than a quick vote and a proclaimation by our political rulers without any consultation or referenda to us in this great ‘democracy’.But in this case the Euro government has saved them the bother and running a truck on a British motorway at 60 mph will get the operator and the driver a criminal sanction of far worse severity than running at 56 mph would in an EU state where the 80kmh limit applies.So why was the limiter setting made at a higher level than 80kmh but less than 60 mph??.
Kin hell ! I know I don’t drive anymore, but I’m bloody glad I’m out here when I read things like this. Do you blokes now have to carry a barrister around as a drivers mate ?
Carryfast:
…running a truck on a British motorway at 60 mph will get the operator and the driver a criminal sanction…
Only if the limiter is defective or has been tampered with. If you reach 60 mph through momentum then no offence is committed.
peterm:
Kin hell ! I know I don’t drive anymore, but I’m bloody glad I’m out here when I read things like this. Do you blokes now have to carry a barrister around as a drivers mate ?
No we have to be better than a barrister if we want to stay out of jail and keep our licence. 
May be slightly off-topic, but I use a 08reg Renault Premium on weekends, and when I come downhill on M11 north towards J9 on cruise, it speeds up to 59mph due to gravity, and automatically tries to slow me down to 56 as usual… But after a few seconds it starts beeping at me and the display warns me about my speed. Ok, i think, but if i let it run it then starts beeping a whole lot more, and then the tacho head display starts flashing and by now i’m feeling really naughty…
So, i’m still under 60mph - the m-way speed limit as far as i know - but this stupid system keeps demanding my attention ( you have to clear the error on the tacho head which takes your eyes off the road for a matter of seconds). My ‘compliance manager’ says that as the truck’s max speed is 56mph then that is the most i should be doing…’ I think that’s a load of old crap, to be honest. And potentially dangerous. Stupid.
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
I haven’t read the magazine article but the VOSA Handout says that the speed limit will come down.It already has for bus and coaches! Down to 56mph along with the lorry
The only reason the speed limiter is set at 56mph is because the EU legislation says it must be set at 90kmh. In some countries the speed limit is still 50mph. It would require a new law to bring our motorway speed limit down to 56mph
And as we’ve seen new laws can be made within an hour by nothing more than a quick vote and a proclaimation by our political rulers without any consultation or referenda to us in this great ‘democracy’.But in this case the Euro government has saved them the bother and running a truck on a British motorway at 60 mph will get the operator and the driver a criminal sanction of far worse severity than running at 56 mph would in an EU state where the 80kmh limit applies.So why was the limiter setting made at a higher level than 80kmh but less than 60 mph??.
Either that or they can join facebook
Blue222:
My ‘compliance manager’ says that as the truck’s max speed is 56mph then that is the most i should be doing…
Your compliance manager is an idiot and isn’t qualified for his job.
on the subject of letting your truck roll downhill up to the 60mph speed limit(and getting infringements)the trainer at my recent induction day mentioned the fact that somewhere in the cab there should be a brake pedal!!
Coffeeholic:
Blue222:
My ‘compliance manager’ says that as the truck’s max speed is 56mph then that is the most i should be doing…Your compliance manager is an idiot and isn’t qualified for his job.
That’s what i was thinking, but it’s nice to get a 2nd opinion… 
xamtex:
on the subject of letting your truck roll downhill up to the 60mph speed limit(and getting infringements)the trainer at my recent induction day mentioned the fact that somewhere in the cab there should be a brake pedal!!
And what is wrong with driving at the speed limit?
Blue222:
May be slightly off-topic, but I use a 08reg Renault Premium on weekends, and when I come downhill on M11 north towards J9 on cruise, it speeds up to 59mph due to gravity, and automatically tries to slow me down to 56 as usual… But after a few seconds it starts beeping at me and the display warns me about my speed. Ok, i think, but if i let it run it then starts beeping a whole lot more, and then the tacho head display starts flashing and by now i’m feeling really naughty…
So, i’m still under 60mph - the m-way speed limit as far as i know - but this stupid system keeps demanding my attention ( you have to clear the error on the tacho head which takes your eyes off the road for a matter of seconds). My ‘compliance manager’ says that as the truck’s max speed is 56mph then that is the most i should be doing…’ I think that’s a load of old crap, to be honest. And potentially dangerous. Stupid.
Not only that, if you let it over run at 60 mph long enough it throws up a limiter fault code and requsts a workshop visit, had to do it twice just to make sure i wasnt seeing things, how clever not.
The buses that I drive have limiters set to 100 k which is 62 mph so thanks for this forum and the heads up we live and learn.
alamcculloch:
The buses that I drive have limiters set to 100 k which is 62 mph …
and with the same lane restrictions on motorways as LGVs it makes the whole thing farcical.
Last Monday I went down the M1 to Northampton in my car and was in this position… in middle lane overtaking some slow trucks, keeping my distance behind another truck who was getting passed the other trucks albeit slowly but steadily - traffic in outer lane was so bunched up that it would be unsafe to attempt to get into it.
A coach came up really close behind me in the middle lane flashing it’s headlights and trying to intimidate me to get out the way !!!
Where was I suppose to go■■? - dive inbetween the trucks in lane 1 - unsafe or force my way into the faster really bunched up traffic in lane 3 - unsafe or get up the arse of the truck in front - unsafe.
So I simply eased off, little by little until I had doubled the gap in front of me - coachy did not like that - tough !!
A little later I saw the same coach (full of passengers) tailgating a truck in the middle lane.
Would this type of behaviour have happened or be less frequent if coaches and trucks were limited to the same speed ?
I think that most LGV and PCV drivers make a good job of things, but along comes an idiot and bang goes our reputation .
ROG:
alamcculloch:
The buses that I drive have limiters set to 100 k which is 62 mph …and with the same lane restrictions on motorways as LGVs it makes the whole thing farcical.
Last Monday I went down the M1 to Northampton in my car and was in this position… in middle lane overtaking some slow trucks, keeping my distance behind another truck who was getting passed the other trucks albeit slowly but steadily - traffic in outer lane was so bunched up that it would be unsafe to attempt to get into it.
A coach came up really close behind me in the middle lane flashing it’s headlights and trying to intimidate me to get out the way !!!
Where was I suppose to go■■? - dive inbetween the trucks in lane 1 - unsafe or force my way into the faster really bunched up traffic in lane 3 - unsafe or get up the arse of the truck in front - unsafe.
So I simply eased off, little by little until I had doubled the gap in front of me - coachy did not like that - tough !!A little later I saw the same coach (full of passengers) tailgating a truck in the middle lane.
Would this type of behaviour have happened or be less frequent if coaches and trucks were limited to the same speed ?
Effectively we’ve built a motorway network costing billions but it’s often not much quicker (and it’s sometimes a lot slower) to use it than using the old A roads of the pre motorway era.But what you described was a typical result of bunching caused by a motorway subject to too many restrictions.
alamcculloch:
I think that most LGV and PCV drivers make a good job of things, but along comes an idiot and bang goes our reputation .
VERY GOOD POINT - I remember the coach ploker but I do not remember all those other coaches that drove safely…