Are Coaches speed limited?

[MissChief]

Was driving along the M8 taking the kids home, doing about 65 so nothing crazy and got passed by a 54 seater Private coach who must have been doing 70+. I thought these things had limiters fitted these days? Also aren't they supposed to be limited to either 56mph or 60 by law? He wasn't hanging about anyway.

[Cupramax]

Depends how big it is, under 12m length it can do 70 on a motorway, over 12m its 60 but I believe older vehicles were unrestricted.

[RobinBanks]

Any idea how old it was?
I know that a lot have ageless Northern Irish plates.

Still that is a rare sight. Even unlimited they would tend to travel at fifty-something for fuel economy.

[Nigel Worc's]

RobinBanks said:

Any idea how old it was?
I know that a lot have ageless Northern Irish plates.

Still that is a rare sight. Even unlimited they would tend to travel at fifty-something for fuel economy.

I often see them travelling faster than you suggest along the M40 and M4.

[anonymous-user]

If you typed ''Are Coaches speed limited?'' into google rather than here, you would have the answer in 10 seconds!

[Hooli]

100ks or 62mph.

[RobinBanks]

Nigel Worc's said:

I often see them travelling faster than you suggest along the M40 and M4.

You are right that it happens but it always bewilders me. I can drive HGVs (although it's not my job) but when I did I was always lectured on fuel economy.

I suppose that if you have a deadline to make you will make it happen!

[MagneticMeerkat]

The older ones weren't!!!

I recall a school trip one year where a classmate managed to goad the driver of our coach to race the other one in the pair taking our cohort on holiday. Of course the second driver was more than happy to oblige and both started going pretty quickly. Over eighty, which was interesting, and this wasn't very long ago. I guess must have been early 2000s; weirdly the teachers seemed to think it was great - whole minutes added to their schedules at the other end.

Consider too that some coaches are extremely powerful.

[Geekman]

I remember talking to a coach driver a few years back and he told me that the limiter only prevented acceleration and didn't apply the brakes, so if you were going downhill it was often possible to reach 80-85MPH.