Company Van - Light Goods Vehicle

tilly122

My partner has received a speeding ticket for exceeding 60mph on a dual carriageway whilst in his work vehicle en route to a job.
He drives a Caddy van and it turns out that these are classed as light goods vehicle and the speed limit on dual carriageways are 60mph.
He wasn’t aware that his van was classified as a light goods vehicle.
Should this be common sense or something his employer should have advised him of? Hes from overseas but in fairness its not anything I was aware of.

Ive done a fair bit of research online and it all seems very confusing to even establish the speed limit and what types of van fall under this category.

Any advice would be much appreciated

dannyrst

So your question is...should the person driving the vehicle know the speed limit?


Yes...they should.

AdrianC

tilly122 wrote: »

My partner has received a speeding ticket for exceeding 60mph on a dual carriageway whilst in his work vehicle en route to a job.
He drives a Caddy van and it turns out that these are classed as light goods vehicle and the speed limit on dual carriageways are 60mph.
He wasn’t aware that his van was classified as a light goods vehicle.

He wasn't aware that a van is a light goods vehicle...? Oooookay.

The default is that a van IS a goods vehicle.
The exception is that there are some smaller vans - "car-derived vans" under 2t GVW - which the normal car limit does apply to.

Is a Caddy a "car-derived van"? Debatable. So assume not.
Is his particular van <2t GVW? As ever, driver's responsibility... I s'pose it's a lot better to believe it's lower than it actually is than vice-versa, and overload it.

As for him being "from overseas" - irrelevant. It is always every driver's responsibility to follow the laws in the country they're driving in, even if they're just passing through it. If they're actually resident there, and driving for their employment, then...


As for whether it's "confusing"...

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

Herzlos

I'm afraid it's common sense. It's in the highway code and something he'd have been expected to know if he passed his driving test here.


If it's under the 2000kg GVW and resembles a VW car (I'm not sure it does), then you could argue it's car derived, but it's probably better to just take the points as an expensive lesson.

tilly122

Thanks for the advice. Sarcasm aside from your responses. I genuinely didn't realise there was a reduction in speed for that type of vehicle on single and dual carriageways. I wrongly assumed it would be the same as it is for a car and i didn't realise they were classified differently. Equally i dont drive a van as part of my job so im sure im not alone in that sense.
Thankyou once again.

System

Ultimately he is the holder of a driving licence which has the category on it that covers that class of vehicle, he is in charge of the vehicle. It is up to him to ensure that he knows what he is and is not allowed to drive and what the speed limits for the vehicle he is driving is.

AdrianC

tilly122 wrote: »

I genuinely didn't realise there was a reduction in speed for that type of vehicle on single and dual carriageways.

The Highway Code is not something that you have to learn for your driving test, then can safely forget in the same way as algebra after Maths O-level.

It's something you should know ALL the time you hold a driving licence. Or use the road in any other way, since it includes rules and advice for pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders...

vansboy

This is something that has caught many people out & considering how 'car like' most vans drive these days, it is understandable, even in 'proper' vans.


When I had my van sales business, even years ago, customers were often unaware of these limits. Lots of the used fleet vans which I bought in, would have stickers on the dash board, or in clear view of driver, to remind them. Something that the boss might consider doing, of any trade.


VB

Supersonos

I had a Caddy for years and always believed it to be a car-derived van, so drove at whatever the posted limit was.

I now have a Vito... and still drive at the posted limit. If you drive slower, people get very very angry.

I've always assumed speed cameras can't distinguish that I'm a LGV so won't flash me.

And I never see the police these days.

AdrianC

So long as you do so in the knowledge that any ticket will be a perfectly fair cop, it's a legitimate choice.


But, no, a Caddy is not a CDV. Looking at VW's website, ALL of the current Caddy range is over 2t GVW, anyway, so it's irrelevant whether they're CDV or not.

onomatopoeia99

AdrianC wrote: »

As for whether it's "confusing"...

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

Interesting page, especially the part about speed limiters at the bottom. I have a minibus that had 14 passenger seats fitted from new (VW Caravelle) and was used as such by the first three owners, so according to that site it should have a speed limiter.

It has never had a speed limiter fitted in its 32 years of life. The puny wasserboxer engine and the extra drag from the 4x4 transmission mean it won't actually do 70mph unless downhill with the wind behind it though.