Farm track speed limits?

[asfault]

I use a company van to make deliveries to a customer up the end of a dusty farmtrack. Its possible to do about 20mph max on this track due to the roughness of it.
However the "gentleman" who owns the house at the start of the track has put up his own 10mph sign. Other drivers have already had a run in with this person. Am i right in thinking the limit would be 60mph (50in a van) regardless of a home made sign. Obviously you wouldn't do 50 the van would shake to bits.
There are no children or cattle nearby the track either.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Surely it's private property so there is no actual speed limit. Maybe the guy is just fed up with people hoofing it past his property.

[drmike37]

Why not just show a bit of respect for other people and slow down?

[Alex Z]

Sounds like 10mph is about the right speed to be doing, if the surface is that bad that 20 is pushing it.

It’s not legally enforceable on private land, but you don’t need the law to tell you not to be a dick.

[BrettMRC]

Speed limit is there to stop the track being eroded, reduce skid risk and reduce dust.

Plenty of people ignore them because it doesn't impact their life if it gets abused.

Obey the request - it's hardly unreasonable.

[Grumps.]

asfault said:

I use a company van to make deliveries to a customer up the end of a dusty farmtrack. Its possible to do about 20mph max on this track due to the roughness of it.
However the "gentleman" who owns the house at the start of the track has put up his own 10mph sign. Other drivers have already had a run in with this person. Am i right in thinking the limit would be 60mph (50in a van) regardless of a home made sign. Obviously you wouldn't do 50 the van would shake to bits.
There are no children or cattle nearby the track either.

It doesn't matter what the limit is, you have been asked to keep to 10mph.

[cootuk]

Plenty of workplaces have speed limits posted that you are obliged to keep to if you want to keep your job there.
It could be the track is his private land and he has a blanket speed limit on his land. Health and safety and business insurances and all that.

[s p a c e m a n]

There is also a massive difference in noise from a van banging through potholes at 10mph and one doing 20mph. Getting woken up by work vehicles flying up a rutted road at 5am every morning would probably make me put a sign up too, the sign might not make much sense to you in a van at mid day but there could be trucks banging past his house all night.

[NDA]

I used to own a house at the end of a private dusty track - the maintenance of it was an expensive and regular affair.

Drive at the requested speed - why not?

[ingenieur]

NDA said:

I used to own a house at the end of a private dusty track - the maintenance of it was an expensive and regular affair.

Drive at the requested speed - why not?

To get the work done faster. If you are a courier you often get paid by the drop. If some old boy has a bee in his bonnet over the various knock-on effects of couriers driving too fast on his road ultimately in the end couriers might think twice before taking packages for that address. It might make sense to work out a new drop off point at the end of the lane if you have to deliver there a lot.

[Drumroll]

asfault said:

There are no children or cattle nearby the track either.

Maybe not yesterday, but what about tomorrow?

[NDA]

ingenieur said:

To get the work done faster. If you are a courier you often get paid by the drop. If some old boy has a bee in his bonnet over the various knock-on effects of couriers driving too fast on his road ultimately in the end couriers might think twice before taking packages for that address. It might make sense to work out a new drop off point at the end of the lane if you have to deliver there a lot.

It might make sense to use a different courier company if drivers cannot moderate their speed. I wonder how they manage in housing developments with a 10mph speed? "Sorry mate, I get paid by the drop" means it's OK?

[ingenieur]

NDA said:

ingenieur said:

To get the work done faster. If you are a courier you often get paid by the drop. If some old boy has a bee in his bonnet over the various knock-on effects of couriers driving too fast on his road ultimately in the end couriers might think twice before taking packages for that address. It might make sense to work out a new drop off point at the end of the lane if you have to deliver there a lot.

It might make sense to use a different courier company if drivers cannot moderate their speed. I wonder how they manage in housing developments with a 10mph speed? "Sorry mate, I get paid by the drop" means it's OK?

That's not what I said really. I said they get paid by the drop. So if you use a different courier how does that change anything? Drivers will still be paid by the drop because that's how courier companies pay their drivers... to encourage them not to be too sluggish.

[Drawweight]

OP says it’s the guy at the start of the track not the customer at the end that has put the signs up.

Possibly it’s just the vehicles going past his house that he objects to not the speed up the track. Which is probably right as they are going to be going as past as possible till they need to slow down for the uneven road.

Doesn’t really solve the problem of how to slow them down tho.

[Fatboy]

NDA said:

ingenieur said:

To get the work done faster. If you are a courier you often get paid by the drop. If some old boy has a bee in his bonnet over the various knock-on effects of couriers driving too fast on his road ultimately in the end couriers might think twice before taking packages for that address. It might make sense to work out a new drop off point at the end of the lane if you have to deliver there a lot.

It might make sense to use a different courier company if drivers cannot moderate their speed. I wonder how they manage in housing developments with a 10mph speed? "Sorry mate, I get paid by the drop" means it's OK?

Is it a 10mph limit though? - OP doesn't say who owns the lane, just that the man in the house at the start of the track has put up a sign, not the business OP is delivering to, if the track isn't owned by the person putting up the sign, it's not relevant...

OP - I'd say you need to know who owns the lane, but you customer might still decide to tell you to slow down if the homeowner is giving them grief...

[Tom8]

We have a long farm track to our house and delivery drivers really piss us off charging up and down it throwing up dust. We have cats, chickens and a child to be worried about yet van drivers seem to think they can go any speed anywhere. One of our friends has similar and had their dog hit my a DPD driver causing broken leg and other damage so you can imagine the vet cost and emotional distress.

[s p a c e m a n]

Yeah you wouldn't get the hump enough to put a sign up for a few Amazon vans a day delivering to you and your neighbours, this is obviously a business at the end of the road that has either changed its usage or become a lot busier.

I'm almost certain it will be a noise issue as vehicles bang past his house all day long and it takes nothing for the drivers to slow down for a few hundred meters each side, and I say that as a driver who works around quarries all day and do the same.

He needs to have a word with whatever firm you're all delivering to, get the warehouse man's number, get a sign near his house saying 'please slow down and respect our neighbours' and then phone up whenever someone ignores it on the way in.

[Om]

As said if it is private there will be no speed limit. However it would be reasonable not to drive too quickly across such a track.

As others have mentioned, it takes time, effort and money to keep on top of the maintenance. Especially when it is wet they can get ripped up very quickly. Then you will slow down... Also the noise of a van passing at speed over gravel is surprisingly loud.

Could also be the man with the sign is a dick. But, you don't have to be one too...

[dundarach]

If it's a private road, could he charge you to use it.

Perhaps he could have a sliding scale related to speed and then everyone would be happy?

[asfault]

Drawweight said:

OP says it’s the guy at the start of the track not the customer at the end that has put the signs up.

Possibly it’s just the vehicles going past his house that he objects to not the speed up the track. Which is probably right as they are going to be going as past as possible till they need to slow down for the uneven road.

Doesn’t really solve the problem of how to slow them down tho.

Exactly this.

The part that passes his house isnt even rutted its tarmac and basicly the main road until you get to the track part. I just wanted to know the law on this as he has previusly blocked vans in with his car when they come back down the track and kicked off at drivers.