Sir – I feel a reference to the speed of HGVs in a 50mph limit on the Botley to Hinksey section of the A34 (Letters, Feb 12) should not go unchallenged. Your correspondent claims to have been regularly overtaken by “heavy goods vehicles (including articulated lorries) doing 60-70 mph...”
In point of fact all Large Goods Vehicles are fitted with speed limiting devices that restricts their maximum speed to 90kph, or 56mph. As a matter of interest, LGVs in a 50mph limit are subject to a legal permitted maximum of 40mph. This is a throwback to the times when trucks were far less sophisticated than they are today, especially in the area of handling and braking.
As an occasional LGV driver, I can report from personal experience that trucks doing 40mph in a 50mph zone are perceived by many car drivers as an irritation, especially on the Oxford to Swindon road.
This often leading to bad-tempered overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic and creates more dangerous situations than would be the case if the truck was permitted to travel at the same speed as the rest of the (law abiding) traffic.
Chris Goffey, Forest Hill
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