Fuel Card News Motoring Updates: Vans should be fitted with speed limiters

The Freight Transport Association's Van Excellence Governance Group has said van manufacturers should supply vehicles with speed limiters as a no-cost option.

They want to see vans have a speed limit set at 70 miles per hour and believe companies will see an array of benefits as a result.

Repair and maintenance bills are often reduced and an extra bonus is that driver stress levels are frequently cited as being lowered.

Gary Whittam, Chairman of the Van Excellence Governance Group, says: "We find it impossible to justify why any conscientious van operator would allow its vans to operate above the national speed limit.

"Simply put, a van travelling at 80mph will be using significantly more fuel than one at 70. You don’t need a calculator to work out that at over £7 per gallon, that's just burning money.

"Without exception manufacturers can easily limit the top speed of their vans. So the question is, why don't they make limitation the default standard or at the very least a no-cost option?"

Operators who have used these speed limiters have reported very little detriment to their journey times. But Rory Morgan, GM National Logistics at Iron Mountain, showed that this point is irrelevant: "How can any business depend on drivers breaking the law to meet schedules? In these days of corporate responsibility it’s just not acceptable."

In other news, fixed penalty notices for motoring offences could rise from £60 to £90.

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