Ban Elephant Racing
Discussion
markymarkthree said:
p1esk said:
markymarkthree said:
p1esk said:
Six Figs said:
Black_S3 said:
One of the few sensible traffic laws we have is HGVs 58 while cars can do 70 imo.
it's 60mphFor as long as I can remember on motorways for over 7.5t it has always been 60mph in the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits
Was it / is it the case that the legal limit for HGVs is 60 mph, but some of the large haulage companies use a limiter setting of 56 mph for fuel economy reasons? I do believe Eddie Stobart used to use a 56 mph limit.
Alright. The legal speed limit in the UK for any vehicle over 7.5(or towing) on the motorway is 60. However within the EU all vehicles over 3.5ton sold after a certain date must be governed to 90kph/56mph. This means that these large vehicles can't achieve there speed limit on the flat, and are allowed a 4mph margin of error for 'overspeed' on down hill.
Older lorries sold prior to this regulation do not require governors, but must still adhere to the 60mph limit.
However some companies govern their trucks at 80kph/50mph for efficiency reasons.
The 2.05-7.5ton range is a minefield speed limit wise, limits depend on the function of the vehicle on the V5, rather than the weight.
Older lorries sold prior to this regulation do not require governors, but must still adhere to the 60mph limit.
However some companies govern their trucks at 80kph/50mph for efficiency reasons.
The 2.05-7.5ton range is a minefield speed limit wise, limits depend on the function of the vehicle on the V5, rather than the weight.
Edited by caelite on Thursday 8th February 14:31
p1esk said:
markymarkthree said:
p1esk said:
markymarkthree said:
p1esk said:
Six Figs said:
Black_S3 said:
One of the few sensible traffic laws we have is HGVs 58 while cars can do 70 imo.
it's 60mphFor as long as I can remember on motorways for over 7.5t it has always been 60mph in the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits
Was it / is it the case that the legal limit for HGVs is 60 mph, but some of the large haulage companies use a limiter setting of 56 mph for fuel economy reasons? I do believe Eddie Stobart used to use a 56 mph limit.
markymarkthree said:
Yes you have pretty much nailed it there, the legal limit is 60 mph but (I am not going to say all) most waggons have a limiter fitted which should be set at 56mph or lower. This I believe is also the case for over 3.5t but not really sure.
simple the UK law is 60 the EU directive for HGVs mandates a limiter set speed not to exceed 90kph=56mph and as we are currently Members of the EU we have to do what they say ...
Any vehicle over 3.5t is a HGV for the purposes of coming under the EU regulation which says they must be limited to 56mph. Limiters are not always perfect so in reality you get small variations. So "elephant racing" is normally a case of truck A being limited to 56mph trying to overtake truck B, which is limited to 55mph. Sometimes trucks are deliberately limited a bit lower to increase fuel economy, which is why you will sometimes see a truck going a bit slower than the rest on the motorway.
Everyone is running up against the limiter, so that's why you get the slow overtakes.
Everyone is running up against the limiter, so that's why you get the slow overtakes.
p1esk said:
Well maybe I was wrong, but I thought HGVs were in a category of their own, and not just in the 'over 7.5 Te' class.
Was it / is it the case that the legal limit for HGVs is 60 mph, but some of the large haulage companies use a limiter setting of 56 mph for fuel economy reasons? I do believe Eddie Stobart used to use a 56 mph limit.
Again no!Was it / is it the case that the legal limit for HGVs is 60 mph, but some of the large haulage companies use a limiter setting of 56 mph for fuel economy reasons? I do believe Eddie Stobart used to use a 56 mph limit.
Goods vehicles over 3.5 tons are limited by law to 56mph, not by the company but by law. This is regardless of the fact the actual road speed limit for these vehicles is 60mph. Companies can limit them to less than 56mph if they wish
Nickyboy said:
Again no!
Goods vehicles over 3.5 tons are limited by law to 56mph, not by the company but by law. This is regardless of the fact the actual road speed limit for these vehicles is 60mph. Companies can limit them to less than 56mph if they wish
Not sure that's right (unless things have changed in recent years). The legal speed limit for hgvs is 60mph but by law they need a speed limiter set at 90kph. However if a speed limited truck overspeeds (downhill for instance) it can legally travel up to 60 mph on an m'way.Goods vehicles over 3.5 tons are limited by law to 56mph, not by the company but by law. This is regardless of the fact the actual road speed limit for these vehicles is 60mph. Companies can limit them to less than 56mph if they wish
As has been pointed out by others the UK speed limit for HGVs is 60 mph but speed limiters are set at the Euro limit of 90kph maximum.
Some companies set the limit lower to appear to be doing their bit for fuel saving .
The hgv can and often do exceed the limits on downhill sections especially if heavily loaded . The on board Digital tacho will warn of overspeeding and if it is sustained for more than 60 seconds it will record it .
This can lead to infringements and if checked by DVSA or Traf pol can cost money , continued infringements will lead to facing a Traffic Commisioner and possible sanctions of the Operator Licence.
The DVSA run a system like ANPR that has a record of the history of not just the vehicle but the company , the more the negative the history is the more attention it attracts .
If you feel persecuted as a car driver then try driving a truck with another level of policing .
Unlike the police who normally only pull you if they see you committing an offence the DVSA is mostly on suspicion/ speculation and historical information.
Some companies set the limit lower to appear to be doing their bit for fuel saving .
The hgv can and often do exceed the limits on downhill sections especially if heavily loaded . The on board Digital tacho will warn of overspeeding and if it is sustained for more than 60 seconds it will record it .
This can lead to infringements and if checked by DVSA or Traf pol can cost money , continued infringements will lead to facing a Traffic Commisioner and possible sanctions of the Operator Licence.
The DVSA run a system like ANPR that has a record of the history of not just the vehicle but the company , the more the negative the history is the more attention it attracts .
If you feel persecuted as a car driver then try driving a truck with another level of policing .
Unlike the police who normally only pull you if they see you committing an offence the DVSA is mostly on suspicion/ speculation and historical information.
heebeegeetee said:
Not sure that's right (unless things have changed in recent years). The legal speed limit for hgvs is 60mph but by law they need a speed limiter set at 90kph. However if a speed limited truck overspeeds (downhill for instance) it can legally travel up to 60 mph on an m'way.
Not sure which bit isn't right?mikeveal said:
grumpy52 said:
It's aimed more at the whinging gits that go mental if held up for a couple of minutes in their oh so important lives .
grumpy52 said:
I would never condone "elephant racing " as it's usually done by the worst types of dinosaur sat behind the wheel .
It's aimed more at the whinging gits that go mental if held up for a couple of minutes in their oh so important lives .
they very often cause congestion which can affect a far way back down the motorway than where it occurs. It's aimed more at the whinging gits that go mental if held up for a couple of minutes in their oh so important lives .
rampageturke said:
they very often cause congestion which can affect a far way back down the motorway than where it occurs.
Car drivers who as soon as they join a motorway move straight into the middle lane & do not move from it until they are leaving the motorway cause just as much congestion.Car drivers who sit in the middle lane doing 50-60 mph cause just as much congestion.
Car drivers who theink they're so important that they can stop dead in lane 2 as they're too impatient to queue to leave a motorway cause just as much congestion.
Car drivers who love to leave it until the last second to move from lanes 2 & 3 when they are leaving a motorway can cause just as much congestion during busy periods.
I think you get the drift
mikeveal said:
Call it 60mph to make the maths easy.
That's a mile a minute.
1 mile is 1609 meters.
So if you're doing 60mph, you're covering 1609meters in 60 seconds. That's 1609/60=26.8 meters every second.
At 56 mph, it's 25m/s, so yes, in 3 seconds you cover 75 meters.
nice I would love it if lorries did this even and over took each other in 35 seconds or what ever the maths were!!!That's a mile a minute.
1 mile is 1609 meters.
So if you're doing 60mph, you're covering 1609meters in 60 seconds. That's 1609/60=26.8 meters every second.
At 56 mph, it's 25m/s, so yes, in 3 seconds you cover 75 meters.
but out in the real world both do 56mph, up comes a hill and then one drops to 54mph so the lorry behind pulls out as it can still do 56mph, they run side by side up the hill...
at the top of the hill the Lorry doing 54mph can now do 56MPH and the lorry which had managed to pull by the side of it up the hill is also now at 56mph side by side
these 2 lorries now are both doing 56mph side by side !!!
the over taking lorry then has to slow down 2 mph as he cannot get by and has to pull back behind the lorry he was behind !!
this can easy cause 40 car tail backs + and guess what not all 40 cars get past before the next hill and the lorry behind pulls out and restarts the next failed over take.
I see it day in day out on the A46 it can go on for miles.
I am sure they are doing it on purpose.
I am also not saying car drivers are any better, most cars seem to have a keep right default now days, even on empty roads esp of note is EU nationals.
Edited by Porsche911R on Sunday 11th February 18:27
Here in Belgium, on all 2-lane motorways trucks are limited to the inside lane between the hours of 6am to 7pm, and it's quite actively policed. On 3-lane motorways, they can use 2 of the 3 lanes.
It has made driving on some routes a bit easier, but I have a feeling that we've seen more bad truck accidents since it was introduced, often with fatalities.
It has made driving on some routes a bit easier, but I have a feeling that we've seen more bad truck accidents since it was introduced, often with fatalities.
sunbeam alpine said:
Here in Belgium, on all 2-lane motorways trucks are limited to the inside lane between the hours of 6am to 7pm, and it's quite actively policed. On 3-lane motorways, they can use 2 of the 3 lanes.
It has made driving on some routes a bit easier, but I have a feeling that we've seen more bad truck accidents since it was introduced, often with fatalities.
https://www.facebook.com/joop.koenders.313/videos/2197203443626732/It has made driving on some routes a bit easier, but I have a feeling that we've seen more bad truck accidents since it was introduced, often with fatalities.
This kind of accident is commonplace on the continent where overtaking bans are in place, trucks follow each other too closely, drivers fall asleep from boredom etc etc
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