Watch your speed!
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There's so much happening in the business world that it's a good idea for hauliers to step back now and again and take a cool look at relevant Issues in depth. Thanks
to our colleagues at Tolley Publishing, we do just that every month with this _ bulletin. We feel the title says it all... —
III Despite what many hauliers think, speed limiters were not introduced deliberately to create bunching of heavy trucks on congested motorways: their purpose is to reduce road accidents involving such vehicles. Besides which, truck operators benefit by way of reduced fuel consumption—up to 150 million litres are saved annually, according to the Government— and the environment is improved: half a million tonnes less carbon monoxide is pumped into the atmosphere each year.
THE REGULATIONS Complex UK and EU legislation applies to the fitting and use of speed limiters in goods vehicles. The UK rules are to be found in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (regulation 36) as amended in 199r (Si 1527/1990 and 1992 (Si 422/1992), while the EU rules are contained in Council Directive 92/6/EEC, as amended by Council Directive 92/24/EEC.
The law requires the mandatory fitment of approved speed limiters to goods vehicles which are: • Over 7.5 tonnes permissible maximum weight, first used since 1 August 1992 and capable of more than 6omph on the flat;
• Over 12 tonnes permissible maximum weight, first used since r January 1988 and capable of more than 56mph on the flat.
Post-1988 goods vehicles of more than rz tonnes gross weight which cannot exceed 56mph on the flat and post-1992 vehicles between 7.5 and 12 tonnes which cannot exceed 6omph (eg certain refuse collection and highway maintenance vehicles) are exempt, as are vehicles: • Being taken to a place to have a speed limiter fitted, repaired or calibrated; • Completing a journey in which the speed limiter has accidentally ceased to function; • Owned by the Secretary of State for Defence and being used for naval, military or air force purposes; • Being used for military purposes while driven by a person under military orders; • Used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes; • Used on a public road only for the purposes of passing between land occupied by the vehicle keeper and not exceeding six miles in a week.
COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS Speed limiter equipment must comply with British Standard BS AU217 Part i1987 (as amended), or with the provisions of the Council Directive mentioned above (EC 92/24/EC), or with an acceptable equivalent.
SPEED SETTINGS Speed limiters must be officially calibrated to a speed of: • 6o miles per hour (96.51cm/h) on goods vehicles between 7.5 tonnes and rz tonnes first used since r August 1992; • 85km/h (equivalent to 52.8mph), allowing a stabilised speed of not more than 90km/h, on goods vehicles over rz tonnes first used since January 1988.
CALIBRATION AND MAINTENANCE Calibration of speed limiters to the appropriate set speed must be carried out by an "authorised sealer", and the equipment sealed to prevent unauthorised interference with or interruption of the power supply. However, limiters fitted voluntarily to goods vehicles before i August 1992 do not have to be sealed.
The equipment must be maintained in good working order, but it is a defence to show that where a vehicle is driven with a defective limiter: • The defect occurred during the journey, or
• It was being driven to a place for the limiter to be repaired.
SPEED LIMITER PLATES Vehicles which require a speed limiter must also display a speed limiter plate in a conspicuous and readily accessible position in the cab, showing:
• The words -Speed limiter fitted";
• The standard with which the installation complies; • The speed setting in mph (km/h); • The name or trademark of the firm which carried out the calibration.
Plates which refer to a maximum speed of 56mph should have been changed (as of September 1997) to show 85km/h. Replacement plates are normally supplied free by the Vehicle Inspectorate when vehicles are presented for their annual test.
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES Contravention of the speed limiter requirements, by unauthorised interference, or by simply failing to have a limiter repaired or properly calibrated, could result in heavy penalties on conviction. For a start, breach of the Construction and Use regulations carries a possible maximum fine of level 4 on the standard scale—presently £2,500. Interference could also result in a potentially dangerous malfunction of the throttle control.
If found to be driving at a speed in excess of the statutory speed limit (more than 6omph on motorways)—which clearly indicates that the speed limiter is not functioning correctly—the driver might face a speeding prosecution which could cost him a maximum fine of 11,000 and three to six penalty points on his driving licence. Should the police consider his driving dangerous, he could face up to six months' imprisonment and have to take an extended driving test.
In France, stringent penalties are imposed where vehicles are found to have defective or incorrectly set speed limiters (above the 85km/h legal limit). These include substantial fines and a French-style goods vehicle test, causing long delays.
• by David Lowe