§ Mr. SquireTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out, in tabular form, in respect of each of the countries of the EEC, in respect of goods vehicles with a weight greater than 3.5 tonnes: the maximum speed in miles per hour on motorways and the maximum speed in miles per hour on non-motorway roads; whether there is currently a mandatory requirement to fit speed limiters; 19W and what is the proportion of all such vehicles registered within that country which are estimated to have been fitted with such speed limiters.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe following is derived from a table provided by the EC Commission in January 1989, in respect of heavy goods vehicles:
Maximum speeds (mph) Member State Motorway Expressway Other Road Belgium 56 56 37 Denmark 43 43 43 FR Germany 50 37 43 France 50 50 37 Greece 37 37 37 Republic of Ireland 35 35 35 Italy 50 37 37 Luxembourg 37 37 37 Netherlands 50 50 37 United Kingdom 60 50 140 Spain 62 50 43 Portugal 50 43 37 1 30 mph in built-up areas. There are a few variations according to operating weights. The information must be treated with some caution because the classification of roads varies between member states.
The information requested on speed limiters is not available, although I understand that in France new vehicles over 10 tonnes gross vehicle weight must be fitted with speed limiters and that in the Federal Republic of Germany mobile cranes must be so fitted. In the United Kingdom, coaches are required to be fitted with speed limiters over the next two years. The number of speed limiters fitted voluntarily to heavy goods vehicles is not known.