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OFF LIMITS
• First the good news. According to Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope: It would not be appropriate for EC directives on speed limiters to include speeds at which the devices are set, because speed limits are matters for individual members to determine."
So there you have it. The Department of Transport is saying we alone set the speed limits in Britain, we don't want an 80km/h (50mph) speed limit for trucks and certainly not linked to any forthcoming EC legislation on limiters.
And the bad news? Well there isn't any . . . yet.
Chope's unequivocal condemnation of EC plans to force an 80km/h limit on the UK via limiter legislation should have every haulier sighing with relief. But can they? Not for the first time has Britain been at odds with EC policies and if push comes to shove it might well be outvoted at a forthcoming Council of European Transport Ministers.
Is another fudge being prepared? On 6 November officials from the DTp meet industry representatives, including the RHA. Whether 80km/h legislation is on the agenda isn't clear but perhaps the DTp will take the opportunity to ask a few "what if" questions on limiters and speed limits. Lucky the fly landing on the wall at Marsham Street.
Chope can rest assured that he is not the only one opposed to any diktat from Brussels. For once the industry has the chance to talk with one voice. "We don't want lower speed limits — not now, not later,
not ever." if