DOT goes for speo
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miter tests
by Nicky Clarke II The testing of speed limiters has finally been introduced into the annual HGV test, along with other new tests and procedures to comply with the latest transport legislation.
Starting tomorrow (1 October) Vehicle Inspectorate staff will check that speed limiters are installed on 7.5-tonners registered on or after 1 August this year, and 16-tonners registered on or after 1 August 1992.
The inspection will include checking.
• The limiter is fitted and secure; any exposed actuating rods or cables for disconnection or damage; and any visible electrical wiring which allows disconnection; the limiter plate is fixed in the driver's compartment in a conspicuous position and is indelibly marked with the name of the limiter calibrator; the speed at which the speed limiter is set and the presence of a tamper-proof device; • Front retro-reflectors and front position lamps on trailers; outline marker lamps and rear registra tion lamps in order to comply with Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations; • For oil leaks from modern trailers; • The general condition of the speedometer.
Even though UK regulations now call for checking the presence and condition of speed limiters, the DOT is coming under increasing pressure from the EC to fall in line with Germany and Belgium by introducing a speed check of the limiter along the lines of the biennial tachograph inspection.
Appeals on the result of a test can now be made at local level or to the Department of Transport at Swansea or Marsham Street. The system of appeals through area engineers no longer exists following restructuring of the Inspectorate.
The VI is expecting "a marginal" increase in test failures, and in the duration of the test. But test fees are about to fall in line with a 5% cost saving announced by Transport Secretary John MacGregor earlier this year. Retests can be carried out at any of the Vf's 91 testing stations, regardless of where the original test was carried out.
Motorway traffic will be slower and safety could be jeopardised by a Government U-turn on banning coaches from the third lane of motorways.
Draft legislation is expected over the next few months "with a view to ban coaches from the third lane", says the Department of Transport. As recently as May it was still proposing that they should continue to use the outside lane.
The ban has come out of the consultation on harmonising UK and continental speed limiter laws. The Road Haulage Association has condemned it as "very foolish and more likely to produce safety problems than overcome them".
The fear is that when an HGV travelling at 56mph overtakes in the second lane, a coach behind travelling at its legal maximum speed of 65mph will have to drop its speed along with other vehicles and cause congestion. The Bus and Coach Council is also resisting the proposal. Fl The Government is considering whether to allow vehicles to "undertake" by passing slower moving vehicles on the inside lanes of motorways. This could lead to an increase in the number of accidents and careless weaving from lane to lane, warns the RHA