Q When do the new regulations come into force for heavy
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vehicles and what effect will they have on existing vehicles such as a 1961 Bedford TK 7-tonner?
AA new consolidated edition of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1966, Number 12887 has just been published. price 6s. 6d. from HMSO.
Briefly, the appropriate regulations stipulate that all vehicles registered after January 1 1968 will have to be plated with (among other things) their maximum gross weight and give braking efficiencies of 50 and 25 per cent with two independent brake systems. On this same date existing rigid vehicles with two axles will have to be capable of 45 per cent main and 20 per cent secondary brake efficiencies, and multi-wheelers and artics 40 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
It is difficult to determine whether any particular vehicle will need modification to meet these braking requirements, other than by testing it. But a 1961 Bedford TK 7-tonner in good condition should comply quite easily with the interim requirements and even the full (50/25) efficiencies that will be required on all vehicles on the road by 1972, provided that the maker's load limit is adhered to by the operator.