Peugeot Bipper van -- at the moment, this van is subject to lower speed limits than the (larger) Citroen Berlingo...

Will these crazy examples finally lead to a common-sense ruling on van speed limits?

In my 2008 post, “Van Speed Limits: Clarity (almost) for sub 2-tonne vans“ I reported on how the DfT had said that for a van to be subject to car speed limits, rather than the lower limit that applies to goods vehicles under 7.5t, it must:

According to the DfT, for vans to be excluded from van speed limits, they must be based on a standard car chassis and must have a body the same as that fitted to a car equivalent as far back as the B pillar (behind the front doors). A box body behind this is acceptable, but only if it is built onto a standard car chassis.

In addition, the vehicle must have a maximum laden weight under 2 tonnes.

Homologation Question

However, that was four years ago and the world has moved on — not least with the introduction of the Peugeot Bipper/Citroen Nemo/Fiat Fiorino small van, all of which have matching car models and maximum laden weights of under 2 tonnes, but are subject to van speed limits, according to this article in What Van?, which says:

[they] aren’t classified as car-derived vans because they were homologated for sale first as commercial vehicles.

The article goes on to say that the Citroen Berlingo, a larger heavier model, is considered car-derived because it was homologated as a car model before it was homologated as a van, so is only subject to car speed limits (as is the obviously car-derived Vauxhall Astravan).

So the gist seems to be that if a van model is also made as a car and has a maximum laden weight below 2 tonnes, the speed limits that apply to the vehicle will depend on whether it was first homologated as a van, or as a car — even though the vehicle itself does qualify as car-derived. There’s not really any way of knowing unless you happen to know which model was homologated first — highly unlikely.

For van hire customers, it makes it all but impossible to know the correct speed limit for small vans unless the rental company tells you — or has a sign in the cab with the correct speed limits on. In my experience, both of these are surprisingly rare.

This is clearly a crazy situation and the What Van? Article concludes by suggesting that discussions are ongoing between Peugeot and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to resolve the issue.

Watch this space.

Note: If you are not sure what the speed limits for vans are, click here for details.