Heard this the other day, dont know if its true, has been kept quiet if it has changed. Anything that is above a car derived van has had the speed limits reduced by 10 mph, for example a Merc Sprinter or Transit on single A roads national speed limit is now 50 mph, dual carriageway and motorways 60mph, anyone know if this is true and when it changed and how are people supposed to know about it? it came about at a meeting where one bloke had been stopped in his van for doing 63mph on an A road, national speed limit, he said to plod “you have got to be joking, 3mph above and your stopping me?”, plod replied “try 13mph above, van speed limits have changed” anyone the wiser?
Car-derived’ vans weigh no more than 2 tonnes when loaded and are based on car designs. Anything else is a 7.5 tonne goods vehicle and the speed limit is 50mph on a single carriageway, 60mph on a dual carriageway and 70mph on a motorway.
don’t think it’s new
direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTr … eed_limits
Vans and ‘car-derived’ vans
Most vans are under 7.5 tonnes laden (loaded) weight and must follow the speed limits for goods vehicles of the same weight.
‘Car-derived’ vans weigh no more than 2 tonnes when loaded and are based on car designs
ETA : Harry beat me to it 
Vans up to 2,000kg MAM
There is a small group of vans that can travel at up to the same national speed limits as cars. These are car derived vans that are goods vehicles developed from a passenger vehicle and have a MAM of no more than 2,000 kg. This means that the weight of the vehicle and the payload it is designed to be able to carry when added together do not exceed 2,000 kg. The van design must be a derivative of a car body, it is not sufficient that it looks similar to a particular car.
A common mistake that’s made is to suppose that if a van is in the same tax or registration class as a car then the speed limits are the same. This is not the case since vehicle registration and vehicle speed limits are governed by separate legislation.
marsden:
Heard this the other day, dont know if its true, has been kept quiet if it has changed. Anything that is above a car derived van has had the speed limits reduced by 10 mph, for example a Merc Sprinter or Transit on single A roads national speed limit is now 50 mph, dual carriageway and motorways 60mph, anyone know if this is true and when it changed and how are people supposed to know about it? it came about at a meeting where one bloke had been stopped in his van for doing 63mph on an A road, national speed limit, he said to plod “you have got to be joking, 3mph above and your stopping me?”, plod replied “try 13mph above, van speed limits have changed” anyone the wiser?
Ignorance is no defence…Old law.
Being an ex class 1 driver (now just drive occasionally as a hobby) i always thought the speed limits were the same upto 7.5 ton then it went to HGV speed limits, wasnt aware of anything in between.
att:
marsden:
Heard this the other day, dont know if its true, has been kept quiet if it has changed. Anything that is above a car derived van has had the speed limits reduced by 10 mph, for example a Merc Sprinter or Transit on single A roads national speed limit is now 50 mph, dual carriageway and motorways 60mph, anyone know if this is true and when it changed and how are people supposed to know about it? it came about at a meeting where one bloke had been stopped in his van for doing 63mph on an A road, national speed limit, he said to plod “you have got to be joking, 3mph above and your stopping me?”, plod replied “try 13mph above, van speed limits have changed” anyone the wiser?Ignorance is no defence…Old law.
Quite right ignorance is no excuse but simply wasnt aware, I passed my class 1 in 92 and drove distance for a good few years, I now run a merc sprinter in my own business of fire safety and doesnt really affect me as I dont usually do more than 60 on the motorway, thats why Im getting 32.8 mpg out of it on an old 04 plate with 140k miles on it. Thanks anyway good to know.
marsden:
Being an ex class 1 driver (now just drive occasionally as a hobby) i always thought the speed limits were the same upto 7.5 ton then it went to HGV speed limits, wasnt aware of anything in between.
Goods vehicles
(under 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight)
*Built up areas: 30 (48), Single Carriageway: (NSL) 50 (80), Dual Carriageway: (NSL) 60 (96), Motorway: 70 (112) - If articulated, or towing a trailer, limit is 60 mph (96 km/h)
As others have said, not new, just a lot of ignorant people out there
*courtesy of the DVLA and The Highway Code
Vans (Sprinters etc) 50 mph single carriageway.
Dual carriageway-60mph.
Motorway- 70mph
Car derived van (Astra etc) Same as a car.
If a vehicle over 3.5 tons GVW has a 56 mph speed limiter, is it subject to speed limits for vehicles over 7.5 tons or under 7.5 tons?
Under.
Car derived vans is an odd term.
To my way of thinking this Postie type van is car derived as it more Corsa than anything else but because it looks different to the car it is based on then it is not classed as such.
Do the fire extinguishers for these for the hazardous they carry, sometimes wish I was back driving them, bit envious of the drivers setting off to France, Spain, Italy.
To be car derived then it’s basically a car with metal where the windows should be. Eg corsa van, Astra van. Something like a combo wouldn’t count.
starfighter:
To be car derived then it’s basically a car with metal where the windows should be. Eg corsa van, Astra van. Something like a combo wouldn’t count.
I know that is the way it is but I just Googled “derived”
Verb:
Obtain something from (a specified source).
Base a concept on a logical extension or modification of (another concept).
Which to my mind makes the term “car derived” a bit ambiguous.
starfighter:
To be car derived then it’s basically a car with metal where the windows should be. Eg corsa van, Astra van. Something like a combo wouldn’t count.
Nope…Corsa Combo is ok. Worked for Comet and drove one.
ive heard a rumour… which is a rumour that vans are going digi.
Just out of interest, what about pick-ups such as Ford Rangers or Mitsubishi L200’s? Have they been affected by this change? 