Speeds explained
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THE DEPARTMENT of Transport defended its stance on heavy goods vehicle speed limit increases this week by pointing out that 89 per cent of lorries break the 40mph limit on dual carriageway roads.
Giving evidence to the House of Commons transport committee on Monday, Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley said that the hgv record on speed limit adherence on dual carriageways and motorways was very bad. These limits were the most flagrantly broken of all, he said.
He stressed that the limits were flouted because they were antiquated and needed to be replaced. The last time speed limits were revised was 1973.
Some committee members were worried that not enough enforcement was available to crack down on offenders. A report by the Oxford University transport division claimed that chances of detection were one in 7,600, they said.
Transport Minister Lynda Chalker, also giving evidence, said that she could not confirm or deny this figure, but stressed the need for better driver education.
She countered requests for the tachograph to be used as evidence for speeding offences, saying that the police were against this on two points: the tachograph would need careful calibration before use as evidence; and it would be almost impossible to provide the location of the lorry when it was speeding.
But she said that each Traffic Area office now has a computerised system for screening tachograph charts. This will "weed out" charts which show compliance with drivers hours and will allow traffic examiners to concentrate on incorrect charts.
More charts will be examined in a shorter period, leading to a more effective enforcement, she said.
Twenty-five more dynamic axle weighbridges will be installed around the country by the DTp over the next five years. This will bring the total number of weighbridges to over 70.
Roadside checks have increased in number according to figures from the Licensing Authorities' annual reports for 1982/83 to be published shortly. A total of 223,689 vehicles (1981/82: 198,343) were checked, of which 64,345 vehicles (1981/82: 54,780) were weighed and 12,973 (1981/82: 10,410) found to be overloaded.