Van Drivers Beware!

goldspanners

gingerdad wrote: »

does anyone know how accurate gps or tomtoms are, i have one and in some of my vans the speed is the same as the speedo and others its between 5-10 mph out. which would you believe?

speedos are calibrated to give a speed over your actual speed,your satnav will probably be giving a more accurate reading,in a transit the speed difference between the sat nav and speedo is a good bit different,but in a merc vito they are almost the same.

thepinkladez_2

bring on the bashing, (no doubt)

i drive a LWB sprinter all day every day, never knew there was a difference and now knowing, it makes no difference,

ive never been stopped or quizzed about it so police must not know either as ive passed them at 74mph (70 on the GPS) and they've never batted an eyelid
this may seem irrisposibile but i bet my van stops better than a lot of car on the road, just have to watch out for the other idiots around

(pinkladez husband speaking dont bash her!!!)

goldspanners

thepinkladez wrote: »

bring on the bashing, (no doubt)

i drive a LWB sprinter all day every day, never knew there was a difference and now knowing, it makes no difference,

ive never been stopped or quizzed about it so police must not know either as ive passed them at 74mph (70 on the GPS) and they've never batted an eyelid
this may seem irrisposibile but i bet my van stops better than a lot of car on the road, just have to watch out for the other idiots around

(pinkladez husband speaking dont bash her!!!)

to pinkladeez husband, aswell as better brakes we van drivers also have a higher seating position so we can see above the cars and judge the traffic a lot easier aswell.
ive been sitting at 80 when the traffic police over took me and didnt seem to bothered, or in a rush to catch anybody.

PasturesNew

One_step_forward wrote: »

Why aren't you made aware of this when you buy van.....

For the same reason they don't let you know you need a driving license and insurance to drive it.

It's in the Highway Code and always has been.

Rule 123/124
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070304

scbk

ozvaldinho wrote: »

Just to let you know, the speed limit for 3.5tonne vehicles on a motorway is 70mph, not 60 mph. It's also 70mph for A roads with three lanes, apparently.

It's not the speed cameras that differentiate the vehicle sizes, the information about the Gross weight is held on the DVLA database, which is why people are now being ticketed at different speed limits from the same camera.

Speed limits; (unless a lower limit is signed)
Commercials not exceeding 7.5t gross-
single carriageway - 50mph
dual carriageway - 60mph
motorway - 70mph or 60mph if articulated/towing a trailer

Number of lanes doesn't matter you're either on a single carriageway, dual, or special road (m/way).

TBH I'll do 60 all day everywhere in my van unless it's a built up area, the road isn't up to it, or there's cameras/police about


Just incase anyone's interested aswell;
Commercials exceeding 7.5t gross-
single carriageway - 40mph
dual carriageway - 50mph
motorway - 60mph

banger9365

ozvaldinho wrote: »

One_step_forward wrote: »

It's not the speed cameras that differentiate the vehicle sizes, the information about the Gross weight is held on the DVLA database, which is why people are now being ticketed at different speed limits from the same camera.

that is wrong there are gatso's that can tell the difference between cars and hgv has they have hight sencers or wieght sencers on the road before the camera, i have had them flash at below the nation speed limit the road put other the 40 limit for a hgv (lucky for me no film)and that was 43 mph still illegal
the camera at the bottom of the big hill before RAF canwell on the a17 ,the one thats not on all the time (i think most hgv drivers will know that camera)

pault123

Any of you folks in the know have any idea if the newer vw caddy





or older model is affected by these speed limits

alun4

I don't think you would be near the weight with these.

cyclonebri1

banger9365 wrote: »

ozvaldinho wrote: »

that is wrong there are gatso's that can tell the difference between cars and hgv has they have hight sencers or wieght sencers on the road before the camera, i have had them flash at below the nation speed limit the road put other the 40 limit for a hgv (lucky for me no film)and that was 43 mph still illegal
the camera at the bottom of the big hill before RAF canwell on the a17 ,the one thats not on all the time (i think most hgv drivers will know that camera)

Its not on all the time because it has a habit of getting decapitated with the oxy/act kit on a regular basis.:T That really is the most nonsensical fixed camera position that I've had the pleasure of.

Conor_3

goldspanners wrote: »

to pinkladeez husband, aswell as better brakes we van drivers also have a higher seating position so we can see above the cars and judge the traffic a lot easier aswell.

Shame that many van drivers don't seem to be able to take advantage of the fact.

Makes little difference when you've done 20 hours driving or more in a day on 2hrs sleep and are nodding off.

Still, it looks like tachographs and drivers hours will apply soon. Not soon enough IMO.