According to a report, 17% are exceeding the 50mph limit for this vehicle type on 60mph single carriageways, compared to 9% before the increase.
That’s among the findings of an interim report from the Department for Transport, which commissioned AECOM to monitor and analyse the impact of the increased HGV speed limits. This is the year two interim report of a three-year project.
In April 2015, in England and Wales, the speed limits for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes were raised from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageway roads, and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways.
The government commissioned the report to look at the impact of this policy change on three key areas: traffic speeds and flows; road safety; and environment (emissions and noise).
In terms of road safety, the latest report concludes there has been no significant change in the number of accidents involving at least one HGV on either single or dual carriageway roads.
It also says that awareness of the speed limit change on single carriageways was “good” among HGV drivers, yet “mixed” for dual carriageways.
To download a free copy of the report, click the link below.