Just a quick note, dont know how new it is but yesterday I was behind a Debenhams lorry which had in big letters on the back of the trailer, that on single carriageways it is limited to 40 mph.
Ive never seen this before but it seemed like a good idea given how few people seem aware of varying limits for different vehicles and subseqently think the HGV driver is holding them up on purpose.
|
Not such a good idea should mr or mrs pedant of Tunbridge realise that said vehicle is exceeding the limit and do their civic duty by grassing....
...not that any trucker i know would dream of doing anything so bad as maintaining some sort of normal progress..;)
|
|
I have seen these in various forms such as A2 stickers, but they are usually worded unwisely. They give the impression it is just company policy or a vehicle limitation, rather than the law.
|
|
|
|
I saw this on the rear of a convoy of Walkers Crisps trucks last year. They were sticking to the 40mph limit. In addition, although there were 3 trucks together, they all kept a good distance apart to enable overtaking.
I thought that it was a good idea as it explained to other drivers the reason for the trucks' low speed.
A brave decision for the transport manager as it undoubtedly slows his fleet down but very good PR and sensible from legal, environmental and employee concern angles.
|
|
As you say doctorchris, I think it serves as public information rather than to give people an opportunity to report speeding because lorry drivers get enough stick as it is, much unfairly and people somehow are more accepting if its in black and white infront of them as to why their progress is being restricted.
|
I see these signs on the backs of 100's if not 1000's of lorries a day.
They act like rolling road blocks and there is little need of speed limits round here.
If you're lucky, they might actually be moving close to the limit rather than crawling along.
www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/T.../
|
OK, the law limiting trucks to 40mph on single carriageways is mental but it is still the law.
If truckers exceed the limit they are the poor devils who get into trouble.
Just because we have a bad law (actually, we have thousands of bad laws) it does no individual any good to break that law.
All we can legally do is express ourselves through the democratic process, or get out of this lunatic country.
|
Thank you, doctorchris, a refreshing blast of common sense.
Only one thing I'll take issue with on your previous comments though; it's not necessarily a good thing from an environmental point of view, as you can end up using more fuel rather than less. Modern trucks are not designed to cruise economically at 40 mph, any more than modern cars are.
It's probably not unreasonable to say that the law turn a "blind eye" to trucks which run over the limit on suitable single-carriageway roads; the emphasis being on "suitable".
|
Inthe Fen where the roads are long, flat and straight, it's quite acceptable to the law to do 50mph but we have to remember that sone firms can and do check a vehicles speed on trackers and exceeding the speed limit can get them disciplined and sometimes dismissed.
The problem for us is remembering when in Cumbria, Scotland or North Wales to stick to 40MPH
With disc brakes all round, EBS, ABS and traction control the vehicles we drive now are a far cry from those that the 40MPH was aimed at.
Pat
|
Yes the company that I work for has done this, both with the LGV's and 3.5 tonne Transits that they operate. Further to this they have had the latest batch of 50 vans governed to 62 mph (60 true speed) now these Transits do a lot of motorway work and so are mainly driven continuously in the second lane (for to venture in to the first lane means you are stuck there)
Is it just me or is it crazy to govern a vehicle to 10mph below the speed that it can legally run at?
Edited by Red Van Man on 21/12/2008 at 21:01
|
>>they have had the latest batch of 50 vans governed to 62 mph (60 true speed)>>
The company have not governed them, all new vans over 3.5 tons have to be governed by law. The manufacturer fits the governor.
Edited by Old Navy on 21/12/2008 at 21:21
|
|
|
|
It's probably not unreasonable to say that the law turn a "blind eye" to trucks which run over the limit on suitable single-carriageway roads; the emphasis being on "suitable".
If by "The Law" you mean a well trained and time served traffic officer, then I would agree. Unfortunately we have fewer and fewer of them around, what we do have is lots of Speed Camera Partnership vans who do not make rational judgements along with Static Cameras that are then looked at by civilians who also have no idea of the real world.
As a result, you now, more then ever before, see trucks sticking rigidly to the speed limits regardless of the queues behind. This is as evident on a 40mph single carriageway as it is on a 50mph dual carriageway.
|
I do, and I also agree with your points.
Problem is that truck drivers are damned if they do stick to the prescribed limits (in the most part by people who think that they shouldn't exist because they impede their vitally important car journey) and damned if they don't by the very reasons you've stated.
|
Although doubtlessly well meaning, I think that truck drivers who break the 40 mph limit are contributing to the problem rather than helping to alleviate it.
If trucks did keep to the 40 mph limit, the outcry from other road users would provide useful pressure to have the limit raised, while the unofficial law-breaking and blind eye turning leaves only uncertainty.
At the moment, if you are driving a truck, you face a kind of peer pressure every day to break the law - surely this is an intolerable situation to put anyone into?
I think the right solution is to lobby for the speed limit to be raised while in the meantime observing it rigorously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
