1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Picking up speed
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Our 'Pushing 50' Campaign is quickly gaining support. Chris Tindall talke to drivers — and, opposite, you can write to Alistair Darling.
Tie problem, Alan Dodd explains, is car drivers. If you don't work in the haulage industry you're not likely to know that trucks can only do 40mph on single-carriageway A-roads. Motorists believe truck drivers are deliberately driving slowly to annoy them.
"They have no idea we're limited by this law.says Dodd, a car transporter driver based in Northumberland. "This campaign is a good opportunity to get people on board.1 have spoken to endless policemen, up to Chief Superintendent level, and they're all for it."
Asda's distribution manager,JimWright, says problems often surface on the A421 from the M1 to Kempston,the A6 into Bedford and the Al at Sandy and Biggleswade:"We have phone numbers on the back of our vehicles for road users to call. Ironically, we actually get complaints our drivers are travelling too slowly."
Dodd was snapped by a speed camera ("scamera" as he has nicknamed them) on 7 November 2003 while travelling at 50mph on the Al just north ofAlnwick. Like many drivers he has always travelled at that speed on that route without any problems. Rather than just coughing up the £60 he complained to the local press, his MP and, of course, CM: "I have been badgering my MP, Alan Beith. He's firmly on board. It is a nonsense and [driving] at 40mph creates a dangerous situation.Alan Beith appreciates that."
Mike Williams, who runs Telford-based Mike Williams Haulage, says at least six of his drivers have received speeding tickets and two have accumulated nine points apiece after being caught out by speed cameras on the A556 between Altrincham and Junction 19 on the M6. He admits these two are on "shaky ground"now.
Williams resorted to sticking notes in all 1701 his trucks warning his drivers about the cameras, and this appears to have worked.
"But it's not the answer," he adds."At the end of the day it's a bloody stupid speed limit. Braking power in trucks is better than in most cars these days. It has to be raised to 50mph."
Williams sent a letter to his MP and eventually received a reply from Transport Minister Derek Jamieson — but it just added insult to injury: -It was a load of crap. He just told me to behave myself!". Responding to discussions with transport chiefs at Asda's Marsh Leys distribution centre, and motorists' lack of awareness,Bedfordshire police have been publicising the fact that trucks can only travel at 40mph on single carriageway roads. They warn that drivers' impatience will eventually result in a fatal accident.
However, road safety analyst Paul Smith describes the police publicity campaign as "disturbing". He says the police ignore the real reason for motorists' frustrations: "The reason this has arisen is because of an overzealous use of enforcement practice." Five years ago, he says, trucks travelled at 50mph and the police "intelligently left the speed limit alone". He says problems arose when the Camera Partnership — which runs the speed camera scheme — was set up. "The Camera Partnership was let loose without adequate controls and it has seen rich pickings. The law hasn't changed — the enforcement practice has:' Smith argues that Bedfordshire police watched this initiative backfire and have been forced to release a warning on a situation they have created. •