Peers want truck limiters
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• Demands for stricter controls on lorry speeds are to be given fresh consideration by the Government, a senior Home Office minister promised last week.
Minister of State Earl Ferrers pledged to examine plans for compulsory speed limiters on trucks, and he told the House of Lords that the Government would re-examine the case for lowering speed limits on commercial vehicles using Britain's roads.
Earl Ferrers made his commitments at Westminster last week as all-party peers criticised the way truck drivers flout the country's motorway speed laws.
Viscount Head demanded emergency legislation to control HGV speeds on motor ways; Lord Mishcon called for the urgent introduction of more cameras to check vehicles; and Lord Stoddart of Swindon said trucks should be singled out for special action.
"Some of the worst offenders are heavy lorries which belt along the motorways, even in wet weather, at 110km/h, sometimes even 130km/h," said Lord Stoddart.
Trucks constituted an increasing hazard to ordinary motorists, he added, calling on the Government to reconsider its attitude and insist on legislation introducing speed limiters "in order to keep lorries down to the permitted speed of 60mph (95km/h) on motorways," he said.
Earl Ferrers, however, said that if trucks were to be kept down to correct speeds with new laws, the same would have to be done for cars. 0 More than 900 HGV drivers have been reported for prosecution by Suffolk's police force in the first four months of a year-long crackdown on HGV speeding offences in the area.