The national limits for goods vehicles
The speed limit "is the absolute maximum - it does not mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions", and lower limits on signs always override the national ones. For goods vehicles gov.uk gives:
| Vehicle | Built-up area | Single carriageway | Dual carriageway | Motorway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods vehicle not more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight | 30 mph (20 in Wales) | 50 mph | 60 mph | 70 mph; 60 mph if articulated or towing a trailer |
| Goods vehicle more than 7.5 tonnes, England and Wales | 30 mph (20 in Wales) | 50 mph | 60 mph | 60 mph |
| Goods vehicle more than 7.5 tonnes, Scotland | 30 mph | 40 mph | 50 mph | 60 mph |
| Car-derived van or dual-purpose vehicle (car limits) | 30 mph (20 in Wales) | 60 mph | 70 mph | 70 mph |
| Car-derived van or dual-purpose vehicle towing | 30 mph (20 in Wales) | 50 mph | 60 mph | 60 mph |
"Maximum laden weight" is the plated gross weight, not what is on board: an empty 18-tonner is still a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes.
Built-up areas: 30, or 20 in Wales
gov.uk: on single and dual carriageways with street lights the limit is "30 miles per hour (48km/h) in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland" and "20 miles per hour (32km/h) in Wales", unless signs show otherwise. The Welsh default applies to every class of vehicle, lorries included. Street lighting is the trigger, not a sign: a lit road with no repeater signs is 30 (or 20).
Scotland
Scotland keeps the older limits for lorries over 7.5 tonnes: 40 mph on single carriageways and 50 mph on dual carriageways against 50 and 60 in England and Wales, with 60 mph on motorways in all three nations. The difference matters on the A-road network north of the border, where a driver used to English limits is 10 mph over.
Vans
gov.uk: "Most vans have a lower speed limit than cars and must follow the speed limits for goods vehicles of the same weight", that is 50 on a single carriageway and 60 on a dual carriageway even for a 3.5-tonne panel van. Two classes keep car limits: a "car-derived van", a vehicle "weighing no more than 2 tonnes laden", and a "dual-purpose vehicle", one "weighing no more than 2.04 tonnes unladen" built to carry passengers and goods. A large panel van is neither, and the difference shows up on speed cameras set for the road’s car limit.
The speed limiter: 90 km/h
Regulation 36B of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 requires a speed limiter on every goods vehicle with a maximum gross weight over 3,500 kg and up to 12,000 kg first used on or after 1 January 2005 (and Euro III vehicles from 1 October 2001), and on every goods vehicle over 12,000 kg first used on or after 1 January 1988, where the vehicle would otherwise be capable of more than 90 km/h. The limiter "must be set so that the stabilised speed of the vehicle must not exceed 90 km/h" (36B(9)), must "be sealed by an authorised sealer" against interference and "be maintained in good and efficient working order" (36B(7)). Older vehicles in the 7.5 to 12-tonne band first used between August 1992 and the end of 2004 are set at 60 mph (36B(8)). 90 km/h is 56 mph, which is why a lorry on a motorway with a 60 limit sits at 56.
Setting, sealing and re-sealing after repair is done at an authorised sealer, listed in the speed limiter centre directory. A limiter that is disconnected, tampered with or set high is a Construction and Use offence for the operator and shows on the tachograph, which brings us to enforcement.
How over speeding is enforced
Three ways. Cameras and police, as for any vehicle. DVSA roadside and operator checks, which read the tachograph: a digital or smart unit records over speeding as an event and produces an "over speeding printout" listing each period above the set threshold, so a habit of 60 on a 50 single carriageway is visible weeks later. And the operator licence: repeated speeding by drivers is a matter for the traffic commissioner as well as the courts, under the undertakings on the operator licence. What the tachograph symbols mean, including the over speeding event, is on the tachograph symbols page.
Worked example
Example. A 26-tonne rigid leaves Carlisle on the A7 into Scotland. In England the single-carriageway limit for it is 50 mph; at the border it becomes 40 mph, with the same road and the same signs (national limit sign). Joining the M74 the limit is 60 mph in both nations, and the limiter holds the vehicle at 56. Back in a Welsh town on a lit street the limit is 20 mph unless signed at 30.
Common mistakes
- Driving a 7.5-tonner at 60 on a single carriageway: the limit is 50 in England and Wales, 40 for heavier vehicles in Scotland.
- Taking a 3.5-tonne van at car limits. Most vans follow goods vehicle limits.
- Forgetting the Welsh 20 mph default on lit streets.
- Assuming the limiter makes speeding impossible. It caps you at 56; most lorry speed limits are lower than that.