Seems there's a new EC Directive to limit vehicles 3.5t to 7.5t GVW to 56mph with compulsory governers and keep them out of the outside lanes of motorways. HJ
hj : i seem to remember this having been discussed in the backroom some time ago, but cannot find the thread.
iirc., the law was passed some time ago, and here is a reference from last year:
www.ggf.co.uk/learn/view_doc_members.phtml?id=369
The van is the workhorse of the small business community, making deliveries, carrying tools and sometimes, in its familiar white livery, upsetting other road users.
White van man has an unfair reputation however, at least according to the Freight Transport Association chief executive, Richard Turner, who says: "Despite the frequent critical references to the misdemeanours of ?white van man?, road safety statistics tell a different story with vans having the lowest accident involvement rate of any category of vehicle in the UK." He was reminding van owners that speed limiters, restricting speeds to 56 mph, will need to be fitted to vehicles down to 3501 kg under a new programme of EU legislation to be introduced from 1 January 2005.
Whilst the majority of UK vans fall below this threshold, many will come into its scope and the new regulations
will also mean that these vehicles, like all of lorries on UK roads, will be banned from using the outside lane on motorways.
The FTA has welcomed the measures saying that they will help cut fuel consumption and reduce
maintenance costs.
All new vehicles registered after 1 January 2005, in the weight range between 3501 kg and 12,000 kg, and employed on international operations, must be fitted with a limiter. For vehicles used solely in the
UK, the requirement is for all vehicles between 7501 kg and 12,000 kg to be fitted with limiters from the same date.
For new vehicles in the range 3501 kg to 7500 kg however the fitment date is not for a further three years ? 1 January 2008.
While there is also a requirement to retrofit limiters to existing vehicles first registered after 1 October 2001, there is no requirement to fit limiters to vehicles first registered before that date. "
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When surfing the net I came across tis story yesterday and though it sounded a bit like a joke. Unfortunatly that is becoming less likley as more and more websites seem to be covering this story.
Fingers crossed it doesn't happen though, we already get people foaming at the mouth because the big lorries currently limited to 56mph take miles to pass each other blocking 2 lanes in the process. I can only think the problem will muliply with new regulations such as this.
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Torque means nothing without RPM
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Have to say I don't see it making much difference. Although the trend has increased, there still aren't very many 'vans' between 3.5t and 7.5t out of the total number of vans on the road. It's a niche market.
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Have to say I don't see it making much difference. Although the trend has increased, there still aren't very many 'vans' between 3.5t and 7.5t out of the total number of vans on the road. It's a niche market.
Not as small as you may think. Out of a fleet of 20 vans I had 7 that fell into this category. A lot of the Iveco Daily's fit this size.
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7.5 tonners are a huge sector, IMHO.
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I seem to recall there was a 50 mph limit in Scotland, in the 70s, that applied to even small vans. Am I mistaken? I had an Escort van at the time and can recall all of the warning signs that used to be on the A74, north of Carlisle, at that time.
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"I seem to recall there was a 50 mph limit in Scotland, in the 70s, that applied to even small vans. Am I mistaken"
I don't think you are mistaken and I think it applied throughout Britain - my only (so far!!) speeding fine was when driving a van in 1970/71ish. I was on a deserted dual carriageway, A12 or A11 (not sure now - it's a long time ago!!) travelling from East Anglia towards London at 3 am and going downhil - the only way it would exceed 50mph - stopped by cops because I thought they were a colleague in his van "racing" me so my foot was on the floor!! They were very nice, had a chat about my summer job which involved driving in the middle of the night, how they were bored, how I was bored, had a fag each etc - then they booked me!
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Phil
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Cracking! Delivery fleets will be able to calculate exactly how many deliveries a day their vans can make at a maximum of 56mph,
That will be less than the present amount - leading to more vans needed to get deliveries out on time
leading to a higher need for van drivers - leading to new jobs for lots of people
which has got to be good news
and we still get our CDs from amazon on time
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I think the new regulations will apply to vehicles over, but not including 3.5t GVW. The average luton or jumbo van won't be affected.
It sort of falls in line with recent driver licensing limitations allowing new drivers to drive vehicles only up to and including 3.5t GVW.
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I don't think a single day goes by without radio reporting road blocked by overturned van blocking M25 somewhere, so I for one am not so sceptical about this move. However - interesting to see no limiters will be required for the vans over 5 year old. So it's ok to go white van man style in old junk, but not so much in new vehicles?
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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No one said otherwise.
To have seven out of twenty is a high percentage, but that's just one example.
What was said was that the number of commercial vehicles between 3.5t and 7.5t is relatively low compared with the total number of commercial vehicles on the road.
'Vans' in this sector are often niche vehicles, such as minibus conversions or companies with a need for a high payload or towing capability i.e. the type of vehicles which already have tachos fitted.
Won't really make much difference.
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Im already legally limited to 60mph on dual carriageways and 50mph on single carriageway national speed limit roads in my little Suzuki van. I can do 70 mph on the motorway however.
I didnt actually know this until I looked it up on the government website. So there are already limits imposed, just throughly ignored. Given the handling characteristics of my van, I have no issue with the slower limits for commercial vehicles of any size as they are never designed to handle like cars, but to cope with weight. I hope they quickly adopt them for other commercials.
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im sorry but you drive a 1300 petrol van with a fairly hefty body on it and you say that all commercial vans should be as slow as yours?why ? so that you dont feel humbled when you are the slowest thing on the road?
i have a car transporter and with the winds last week i was down to 40 mph(motorway) if my truck which is 31/2 ton fully laden was restricted to the new 56mph it would probably have only managed 20 mph on the motorway,not nice at all i think you would agree?
yes/no?
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Actually my van weighs less than a ton and has 70 BHP, so its quicker off the mark than quite a few 1.3 superminis. Top speed is 95mph. Not hefty and not slow, but its not a Mini Cooper and due to its design, it is not great for cornering or sidewinds.
Your logic doesnt work im afraid - If you were down to 40mph even without the 56mph limit, you could still do 40 mph as it is UNDER 56mph.
Perhaps you need to explain why you can only manage 20mph if there is a 56 mph limit?
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if the engine is governed to only produce so much rpm then with the headwind and loaded the speed would be reduced to 20mph (only off the head figures by the way)
your van is geared for local deliveries by the way ,so as an experiment give it a full load and see what she will do on an open road with hills traffic lights etc,it may surprise you :-)
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I generally travel with about half the max load - it has a crawler first gear which overcomes issues with full loads on hills and I normally pull away in second even when loaded as its quite torquey.
It is low geared in general and I have had a heavy oak victorian sideboard and 6 boxes of magazines in the back and while it took more revs and more use of first gear pulling away, it was still possible to maintain normal speeds in a straightline and accelerate at a reasonable rate.
I referred to a speed limit, not a rev limiter. Speed limiters that I have encountered do not restrict the revs unless it reaches the set limit. Any limiter that limits revs in any gear is clearly a stupid idea by someone who doesnt drive.
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