Deadline set
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Speed limiters become mandatory from next year on new HGVs — but many technical and operational details have still to be finalised during the next month.
Last week Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope announced that 60mph governors will be required on new trucks of over 7.5 tonnes GVW from August 1992.
The Department of Transport has issued a consultation document which the trade associations and unions will be asked to comment on.
Although the Government appears to have accepted the Freight Transport Association's call that existing trucks be exempt (CM 7-13 February), several key questions still have to be answered. These include: 0 The weight threshold over which limiters become mandatory. The Government wants it to be 7.5 tonnes — the FTA has suggested 12.5 tonnes. 0 Whether vehicles not designed for motorways, such as refuse vehicles, will be covered
by the regulations.
0 The international implications. Will the rules cover UK vehicles abroad — or foreign trucks in this country?
0 Whether the limiters will be checked at the annual test, and whether, like tachographs, they will have to be calibrated every six years.
The FTA and Road Haulage Association will consult with their member committees during the next four weeks. Their recommendations will probably be taken up by the DTp, which often relies on the industry to point out problems with its initial proposals, says the RHA.