50mph promises benefits
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AT LEAST one local authority, Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council, has been slow to respond to the revision of speed limits which became effective on March 24.
Road signs on the A74 still read "hgv speed limit 40mph".
But a recent CM road test has confirmed that many operators can improve vehicle efficiency substantially, but not fuel consumption, by taking immediate advantage of the new 50mph dual carriageway limit.
CM'S 736-mile Scottish test route includes 214 miles of dual carriageway, 29 per cent of the total distance.
Last week we tested a Cummins E290 powered Bedford TM tractive unit, at 38 tonnes gcw, over this route, driving to the new limit where applicable and compared the results with an earlier test of the same vehicle which was conducted while the 40mph limit was in force.
The driving time saved amounted to a full hour, equivalent to an increase in overall average speed of 2mph. On the faster run the Bedford's. overall fuel economy actually improved a little but our results indicate that this was caused mainly by more favourable weather conditions.
A realistic conclusion to be drawn from the two tests is that fuel consumption at 50mph on most dual carriageways is likely to be the same as at 40 mph.