|
New
Speed Limiter Regulations
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
|
