White Van Mans new limits..

[Dr Who]

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/203909/ford_transit.html

Hadn't heard about this..

Can't decide if its good or bad?

Seems all that will happen is more vans under 3.5 tonnes

???

 

[Stellios]

Bad idea IMO, would have been better to allow them to go faster than lorries, as said in the article. Could find yourself stuck as 55mph behind vans now in the fast lane as they try to overtake.

 

[Scuzi]

I'm all for it however I think a 62mph limit would have been far better. Al lwe are going to get now is a load of cocky white van drivers sitting in the middle/outer lanes at 56mph clogging everything up, whilst they crawl past a HGV.

I think by making it the same as HGV limits, they have worsened this situation whereas a 62mph limit would have been much more sensible.

 

[Lee456]

Bad - when I do work for a garden maintenance firm, the journey from Reading to Banbury is going to take ages

 

[NathanE]

The government always goes on about congestion but they don't seem to realise every time they do things like this it causes more of it.

 

[dirtydog]

I like the idea of the limiter but I agree that 62 would have been better for everyone really.

 

[Rich]

Yep fine, as long as they are restricted to the inside lane only.
Travelling up the M1 each morning is a nightmare. Trucks in the inside and middle lane at 55mph with tailbacks as far as the eye can see.

 

[<(Multi)>]

The only thing this legislation is going to achieve is slower motorway speeds for all, and an inflated price of goods requiring transportation via smaller courier services. Seems like another brain dead policy by Labour then.

Are white van drivers really that dangerous on the road? Are we going to put speed limiters on BMW drivers being they have a reputation of agressive driving too.

 

[PMKeates]

Are we going to put speed limiters on BMW drivers being they have a reputation of agressive driving too.

We already have speed limiters. OKAY, it's at 155mph, but hey - it's a limiter nonetheless!

 

[Tesla]

What benefit does having a limiter in place bring? How does it increase safety by having a slow moving vehicle on a motorway?

 

[v0n]

Unless they are restricted in the same time to 2 lanes on motorways with 3 lanes or more and 1 lane on roads with 2 lanes they will be just clogging the road. And let's remember we are talking about most of intercity courier vans, furniture deliveries etc. It's not a small number of vans. What's even more peculiar - only vans registered after 2001 will have compulsory limiters. So you can imagine fleets will keep old, dangerous banger vans forever just so they can deliver faster.

 

[<(Multi)>]

What benefit does having a limiter in place bring? How does it increase safety by having a slow moving vehicle on a motorway?

I should imagine the concept was drawn up as measure of the bringing the UK's carbon footprint inline with its 2012 targets. Apparently white van men could save the earth if they were a little more gentle with their right foot

 

[Jokester]

I should imagine the concept was drawn up as measure of the bringing the UK's carbon footprint inline with its 2012 targets. Apparently white van men could save the earth if they were a little more gentle with their right foot

Problem is we're now going to have a lot more small vans on the road to get round the 3.5t limit.

Seems a badly thought out policy, how many deaths and serious injuries are caused every year due to large vans going over 56mph, not many I bet.

Jokester

 

[v0n]

how many deaths and serious injuries are caused every year due to large vans going over 56mph, not many I bet.

Probably not that many deaths. But to be honest, I don't think a single day goes by without radio reporting a overturned van blocking M25 somewhere on my way to work... You'd think it's a figure of speech, but I actually saw high roof van flat on its side twice in last 3 months on A2. I don't even know how on earth they do that.

 

[PMKeates]

I don't even know how on earth they do that.

I do. The other day I left the A13 using the Chadwell-st-Mary exit (Which is a very short sliproad with a 90 degree turn at the end) and was behind a white van. He went round the corner as fast as I would have, which is at some pace. I could see the outer wheels being angled by the force of the cornering and was just waiting for a tip/understeer!

 

[dirtydog]

What benefit does having a limiter in place bring? How does it increase safety by having a slow moving vehicle on a motorway?

It's not just on the motorway. I have driven at 60 on 60 roads and had a white van right up my arse.

 

[triggerthat]

Good idea to be honest.

 

[derfderfley]

The FTA says the programme will lead to hundreds of companies downsizing their vehicles to below the 3.5-tonne limit. "There are plenty of firms moving goods up and down the country whose driving times are tight," Day explained. "They won't be able to cope with a 56mph limit, so will have to change into a smaller vehicle."

Expect to see the bottom drop out of the second hand market for LWB transit's and Merc Sprinters and day now.


Biggest problem is that a lot of firms will put their prices up to adjust for the fact that either;
a> deliveries take longer as the vans are speed limited, or
b> smaller vans means more vans, means more drivers, means more fuel (and more pollution).

I really don't see what the government thinks it's gaining from all of this

 

[Berger]

It's not just on the motorway. I have driven at 60 on 60 roads and had a white van right up my arse.

I think you missed his point....

 

[Dogbreath]

A 62mph limit would have been a bit pointless as the majority of Transit sized vans have a 60mph limit on dual carriageways and motorways anyhow, not that any of the drivers take any notice of this, or probably even know about.