Although the Highway Code (and the law!) clearly state that goods vehicles (including vans) with a maximum gross weight of over 2 tonnes are subject to different speed limits to cars, there is often some confusion about vans under 2 tonnes, which are exempt from the lower van speed limits as long as they are car derived.
I’ve written about the commonly misunderstood van speed limits before, and the topic has also been the subject of a longish thread in our forums. More recently, van speed limits were the focus of a recent post on the very interesting Courier Business Stuff blog, which is written by a same-day courier business manager named Alec.
In it, he highlights the potential grey area surrounding vans with a maxium gross weight of under 2 tonnes (e.g. Vauxhall Combo, Citroen Berlingo) which aren’t car-derived vans. Should they be subject to the speed limit for car-derived vans with a maximum gross weight under 2 tonnes or not?
Alec emailed the DfT (Department for Transport) to see if they could clarify this point and it seems they can, at least to an extent.
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.
Vehicles not meeting these criteria (such as the current Vauxhall Combo) are technically required to obey the speed limits which apply to goods vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes – 50mph on single carriageways, 60mph on duals and 70mph on motorways.
This comment from the DfT is well worth reading and provides the most detailed and specific explanation I have ever seen on this topic – although I don’t necessarily agree with the logic of it. Why should an Vauxhall Astravan loaded with its maximum 650kg payload be subject to higher speed limits than a Vauxhall Combo with its 595kg payload?
Ford
