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The big slowdown
Page 34
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Britain's motorways are set to grind to a halt as the speed limiter law extends to light commercials. Adam Hill reports.
Motorists who are frustrated by lines of trucks travelling at 56mph in the inside lane of the motorway have seen nothing yet. With pending European legislation forcing even Transit owners to fit speed limiters, the scene on Britain's roads will be "horrendous".
That, at least, is the view of Freight Transport Association (ETA) policy adviser Gavin Scott. He says: "You are going to find great convoys of vehicles from 3.5 tonnes upwards going down motorways at 56mph. One of them doing 56.25mph would take hours to pass another." he adds, tongue in cheek. "We already see it with HGVs and you can't blame the driver. Go to the dual carriageway bit between the M6 and the M74. I've sat behind a truck in the outside lane for the length of that six miles while it overtook the vehicle on the inside."
More of the same, except on a far bigger scale, is the likely result of European directive 2002/ 85/EC. Although the UK transport industry opposed it, no one here is kidding themselves this will become law. At present, the EC requirement is for speed limiters fixed at 56mph to be fitted to goods vehicles over 12 tonnes. As is so often the case when it comes to rules from Brussels the UK goes further,requiring limiters to restrict speed on vehicles over 7.5 tonnes and up to 12 tonnes too.
Directive 2002/85/EC insists that the bar to operation is raised even higher: all goods vehicles above 3.5 tonnes will need limiters set at 56mph.This will apply to all vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2005 less than a year's time.
Scott says:"Presumably the argument is road safety But we should take the flexible approach and drag the whole thing out as long as we possibly can." He will be pleased to know that the government agrees and is pushing implementation lead times as far as possible.
Buying time Hayley Bowen of the Department for Transport's licensing, roadworthiness and insurance division, explains: "There are transitional arrangements within the directive which, if utilised. will have the effect of delaying implementation for certain categories of vehicle.The UK proposes to take full advantage of these.
The DfT's consultation document on the Directive suggests that implementation for all vehicles old and new by 1 January 2005 "would be a fair approach in that it would discourage operators hanging onto older vehicles and help to ensure a consistent demand for new vehicles". But it concedes that this would present too many problems for operators and manufacturers and may put the UK at a disadvantage in the rest of Europe.
The good news is that it is pushing for the following: new vehicles below 7.5 tonnes which are first used on or after 1 January 2005 and are used "solely for national transport operations" will not have to be fitted with limiters until January 2008.
But this is at the limit of the period allowed a time lag which most operators will not be able to take up. Operators with olde vehicles first used between 1 October 200 and 1 January 2005 but which do not hay+ lirnitcrs,will have to be fitted retrospectively b: the beginning of 2006. As long as they are use for national transport operations only, then is an extension on this until 1 January 200; Yet although these arrangements give somi breathing space to hauliers, it is clear that doinl nothing is not a viable option for anybody.
Given that vans are used by small and largi operators in a variety of applications, particular!: in the grocery and retail sector, potential disrup tion to schedules will be caused by this full-scat fitting of speed limiters. -There is bound to be problem with delivery," agrees Scott.
But there may be an even bigger problem, hi warns: "Some people in the future may find i hard to get onto the slip road when they want ti get off the motorway We're talking about ever. goods vehicle in the country [being speed limited so youcan imagine the mess. It's going to be quit horrendous.And in just four years' time, what ever your business, this will be a reality..