Speed limiters
The range of vehicles requiring a road speed limiter is widening and will include:
New vehicles
Goods vehicles with a design weight over 3.5 tonnes and buses with more than 8 passenger seats (regardless of weight) registered on or after 1 January 2005, will be required to be fitted with a road speed limiter. The limiter will restrict the maximum powered speed to 56mph (90km/h) for goods vehicles, and 62mph (100km/h) for buses. A speed limiter will not be required until 1 January 2008, however for vehicles used solely on UK journeys and are either:
a goods vehicle with a design weight not exceeding 7.5 tonnes, or;
a bus with a design weight not exceeding 5 tonnes
Speed limiter, speed limits and motorway driving laws are changing…don’t get caught out!
Older vehicles
Vehicles registered between 1 October 2001 and 31 December 2004 (inclusive), will also need a road speed limiter if they are:
a diesel engined goods vehicle with a design weight over 3.5 tonnes, but not exceeding 12 tonnes, or;
a diesel engined bus fitted with more than 8 passenger seats and has a design weight not exceeding 10 tonnes.
Vehicles used on international journeys need to be fitted with a speed limiter by 1 January 2006, while vehicles used solely on UK journeys will need a limiter by 1 January 2007.
Use of the offside lane on motorways
The Department for Transport is consulting on the proposal to ban all vehicles, required to be fitted with a road speed limiter, from using the offside lane on 3 or more lane motorways. If the proposal is adopted, the change will begin on 1 January 2005.
Motorway speed limits
It is likely, once all the changes to vehicles requiring road speed limiters have taken place (after 1 January 2008), the national motorway speed limit for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and buses will be lowered. Restricting all vehicles in these classes to the same speed limit will reduce any competitive advantage of older vehicles (which are not required to have speed limiters).
For further information, please contact the Vehicle and Operator
Services Agency (VOSA) on:
0870 60 60 440 or go to: www.vosa.gov.uk
This came up a few months ago. I can’t find a result of the consultation but I would draw your attention to the implementation date of the outside lane proposal (in bold above)
It seems that the government and its agencies don’t feel the need to effectively spread the word about changes in the law, just look at the WTD fiasco, after all as long as they know they can do more people and generate more income - cynic, me…never
I got a call from agency on friday to go to sheffield and drive a mercedes sprinter or a ford transit van from sheffield to hull then back to sheffield for another load to leeds. So I thought why not.
I got to the place just before 08:00 and had to wait for the manager to bring the van in to work as he borrowed it over the weekend. He eventually turned up about 08:30 and the van got loaded with a pallet of cardboard for north ferriby but before I got to set off on my run I had to take a driver to pick up is vehicle at the layland garage near handsworth test centre.
Then off to north ferriby where the run went very well. I got to the road it was on straight away but had to ask at the butty van where the place was as I could not find it. At the butty van there was a guy there who worked there and he said it was down a road about 100 yards from the butty van. As I was driving down this lane I was thinking it cannot be down here but it was right at the bottom behind a quarry.
On the way back to sheffield there was a big lorry mudgard in the motorway lane that I just managed to miss. As I got back to sheffield I said there is a load for leeds for me isn’t there but there was head scratching but they finally realised what had to be taken but had not got it ready and someone blocked it in so the boss gave me 2 drops in sheffield one just down the road and the other about 2 minutes away but as I got 2 the second drop I could not see the place so went in to an engineering unit and asked. He said see that unit there what called something else that’s the place you want it’s part of the same company and then he said it’s stupid as they have one business sign for 2 business which I agreed and then did the drop. After I did those 2 drops I had to do a 3rd in dinnington and then back to base.
When I got back the load that what was supposed to be for leeds was to go to a place near bradford but was not ready for about another 20 minutes. I found the place ok and set off back to sheffield and as I got off the motorway the fuel light came on so I filled up at a esso garage on the corner of leppings lane with a fuel card that could be used at any fuel station which I thought was very good.
So after fuel the vehicle up it was back to base but on penistone road sheffield the diverted the traffic and closed the road I wanted to go down so I use the next road but they had that road up so I ended up back on penistone road and managed to find a road to get me to the road I wanted.
Finally managed to get down the tight street caused by cars parked on both sides on yellow lines and job done. I was driving a ford transit 04 plate and really enjoyed myself and the day. Tom Tom was excellent in finding the roads around sheffield ect.
Yes it was a good day CM and it did make a change from being limited to 56 mph and filling tacho in and work these poa’s out on time sheets ect. The down side to van driving is there is not many rules so if you get a bad company that want’s you to rush around ect but this company was ok and I would do work for them again.
Can anyone answer these questions please.
Can 7.5 tons still use the 3rd lane at the moment .
What gear do you set of in a 7.5 tons truck as I set of in first in one what I drove a while back even though it would have pulled away in 2nd gear. Saying that though this struggled to go up hills in first .
Good story convoy - you can still use lane 3 in a 7.5t if it isn’t limited which some new ones are, 2nd gear is normally OK to pull away in (well it has been in the ones i’ve driven).
Bear in mind that, just like any LGV, 1st needs to move a fully loaded vehicle, possibly off a hill start, therefore 2nd should be no problem on a flat with little or no load (saves gear changes)
It sounds like a nice change from the norm Convoy,
we do the same drops over & over so it would be nice
to have to think about the job once in a while instead of
being on auto pilot.
mrpj:
Bear in mind that, just like any LGV, 1st needs to move a fully loaded vehicle, possibly off a hill start, therefore 2nd should be no problem on a flat with little or no load (saves gear changes)
Agree, but I always use 1st, they are so under powered & have so few gears that the effort saved & the benefit gained are minimal.
Also don’t forget they are just large vans that are driven mainly by car drivers, so they are use to being driven like cars, so why confuse them by thinking about how you drive them ?.
mrpj:
Bear in mind that, just like any LGV, 1st needs to move a fully loaded vehicle, possibly off a hill start, therefore 2nd should be no problem on a flat with little or no load (saves gear changes)
Agree, but I always use 1st, they are so under powered & have so few gears that the effort saved & the benefit gained are minimal.
Also don’t forget they are just large vans that are driven mainly by car drivers, so they are use to being driven like cars, so why confuse them by thinking about how you drive them ?.
Fair point, its just the ones I have driven have been very low geared so required a gear change to second very quickly (almost as soon as they started moving). I agree that most are driven by car drivers but most people on this site are used to driving LGV’s where you do start in 2nd so it would save them altering their driving style (?)
convoy:
Yes it was a good day CM and it did make a change from being limited to 56 mph and filling tacho in and work these poa’s out on time sheets ect. The down side to van driving is there is not many rules so if you get a bad company that want’s you to rush around ect but this company was ok and I would do work for them again.
Just a word of warning. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong . If you’ve had a tacho in that week, then your still subject to EC Drivers Hours law for the rest of the week, so breaks/daily rests etc must be taken and fitted into the job your doing .
It’s other work, not driving.
So it will count towards working hours so providing you have had sufficient rest from the previous shift & are not over your working hours then you are fine.
I normally write a tacho out & manually fill it in.(ALWAYS WRITE VEHICLES WEIGHT ON CHART IF DOING THIS, IT AVOIDS CONFUSION !!.)
This way if you are stopped you have something to show what you were doing that day, it’s also a good to have a record incase something happens.
Yes I had sufficient rest daxi as the last driving job I
had done was on good friday and on monday I only
did about 8 1/2 hours. nianiamh it is nice to do different
runs and that’s one good point of agency work.
mrpj:
Good story convoy - you can still use lane 3 in a 7.5t if it isn’t limited
where did that come from??
If i happened to drive a new 7.5 tonner (looked at several at the CM show yesterday) be it limited to 60 or 56 [it can be either] & an opportunity arose, i would happily & legally use the outside lane.
(Though the legality maybe subject to change within a few years)
Rgds, Jonathan. Ex O/D. Ex LGV C+E Instructor. DSA ADI. RoSPA Gold
mrpj:
Good story convoy - you can still use lane 3 in a 7.5t if it isn’t limited
where did that come from??
If i happened to drive a new 7.5 tonner (looked at several at the CM show yesterday) be it limited to 60 or 56 [it can be either] & an opportunity arose, i would happily & legally use the outside lane.
(Though the legality maybe subject to change within a few years)
Rgds, Jonathan. Ex O/D. Ex LGV C+E Instructor. DSA ADI. RoSPA Gold
I read somewhere (possibly on this site but not sure)that the restriction applies to all vehicles with limiters, however on consulting the highway code it confirms that you are entirely correct. Thanks for correcting me
convoy:
Yes it was a good day CM and it did make a change from being limited to 56 mph and filling tacho in and work these poa’s out on time sheets ect.
Err…you still have to work out the PoAs…
The WTD as applied to road haulage still applies even though your other job is completely non transport. If I do work for local factory, I have to put down the hours I did for them on my Driver Hire timesheet as its classed as work towards my 48hr week. This is the same for any type of work done for anyone if you’re a mobile worker.
Sounds like yet another agency without a clue who have passed on bad info to their employees.
No problem, the new rules about 7.5t limiters seems complicated with international and UK rules.
what rules■■?
this is one problem with agency work. im an HGV driver. i dont get told about non HGV regulations or amendments that are passed. i still havent been officially informed about the WTD although i seem to know a lot more about it than full time employees that i have worked beside.
no new time sheets yet so i worked out my hours and handed a sheet of paper in which included a break down of every hour i drove, worked, rested and POA for the week. including as a drivers mate and van driver! how many others have kept their agency this informed? i dont mean just in here!
.
. If you’ve had a tacho in that week, then your still subject to EC Drivers Hours law for the rest of the week, so breaks/daily rests etc must be taken and fitted into the job your doing 
.