Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967

Section 78.

SCHEDULE 5 Limits of Speed for Vehicles of certain Classes.

Class of vehicle (See also paragraph 13)	Maximum speed, miles per hour
VEHICLES OTHER THAN TRACK-LAYING VEHICLES
1. Passenger vehicles, that is to say, vehicles constructed solely for the carriage of passengers and their effects, and dual-purpose vehicles:—
(1) a passenger vehicle having an unladen weight exceeding 3 tons, or adapted to carry more than 7 passengers exclusive of the driver, in respect of which a public service vehicle licence granted under section 127 of the [1960 c. 16.] Road Traffic Act 1960 is in force	50
(2) a vehicle having an unladen weight exceeding 3 tons, or adapted to carry more than 7 passengers exclusive of the driver, not being a vehicle which falls within sub-paragraph (1) above	40
(3) a vehicle drawing one trailer—
(a) in the case of a motor car adapted to carry not more than 7 passengers exclusive of the driver, if the trailer is—
(i) a living van, or
(ii) a load-carrying trailer having an unladen weight not exceeding 5 hundredweight, or
(iii) a glider trailer being used either unladen or to carry a glider or ancillary equipment, or
(iv) not within any of the foregoing classes of trailers, and has an unladen weight not exceeding 15 hundredweight	40
(b) in the case of a passenger vehicle having an unladen weight exceeding 3 tons, or adapted to carry more than 7 passengers exclusive of the driver in respect of which a public service vehicle licence granted under section 127 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 is in force	40
(c) in the case of a vehicle not falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (b) above	30
(4) a vehicle drawing more than one trailer	20
(5) a vehicle not fitted with pneumatic tyres and a vehicle drawing a trailer not so fitted	20
(6) an invalid carriage	20
2. Goods vehicles, that is to say, vehicles constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of goods or burden of any description, but not including dual-purpose vehicles:—
(1) generally	40
(2) vehicles drawing a trailer, not being articulated vehicles—
(a) in the case of a trailer drawn by a heavy motor car, and
(b) in the case of a trailer drawn by a motor car if the trailer—
(i) being a load-carrying trailer, has an unladen weight exceeding 5 hundredweight, or
(ii) being neither a living van nor a load-carrying trailer, has an unladen weight exceeding 15 hundredweight	30
(3) vehicles drawing more than one trailer	20
(4) vehicles not fitted with pneumatic tyres, if drawing trailers or having an unladen weight exceeding 1 ton, and vehicles drawing trailers not fitted with pneumatic tyres	20
(5) vehicles not fitted with resilient tyres and vehicles drawing trailers not so fitted	5
3. Motor tractors:—
(1) generally, except for vehicles falling within the following sub-paragraph	20
(2) vehicles fitted with pneumatic tyres, equipped with springs and wings and which satisfy the conditions as to brakes specified in paragraph 20(a) below or such vehicles drawing a trailer so fitted and equipped and which satisfies the conditions as to brakes specified in paragraph 20(b) below.	30
(3) if drawing two or more trailers	12
(4) if not fitted with resilient tyres or drawing trailers not so fitted.	5
4. Heavy locomotives and light locomotives:—
(1) generally, except for vehicles falling within the following sub-paragraph	12
(2) vehicles fitted with pneumatic tyres, equipped with springs and wings and which satisfy the conditions as to brakes and weight specified in paragraph 20(a), (c) and (d) below or such vehicles drawing a trailer so fitted and equipped and which satisfies the conditions as to brakes specified in paragraph 20(b) below if the further conditions as to the weight of a vehicle and trailer specified in paragraph 20(e) below are complied with	20
(3) if drawing two or more trailers	12
(4) if not fitted with resilient tyres or drawing trailers not so fitted	5
TRACK-LAYING VEHICLES
5. Motor cars and heavy motor cars	20
6. Motor tractors:—
(1) generally	20
(2) if drawing two or more trailers	5
7. Light locomotives:—
(1) generally	12
(2) if drawing more than two trailers.	5
8. Heavy locomotives	5
9. Track-laying vehicles which do not satisfy both of the following conditions—
(a) that the vehicle is fitted with springs between its frame and the weight-carrying rollers, and
(b) that the vehicle is fitted with resilient material between the rims of the weight-carrying rollers and the road surface,
and vehicles drawing track-laying trailers which do not satisfy both of those conditions.	12
10. Track-laying vehicles satisfying neither of the said conditions, and vehicles drawing track-laying trailers satisfying neither of those conditions	5
11. Combined track-and-wheel vehicles not fitted with resilient tyres, and vehicles drawing trailers which are combined track-and-wheel vehicles not fitted with resilient tyres	5
12. Vehicles drawing trailers, where the drawing or any of the drawn vehicles, not being a track-laying vehicle, is not fitted with resilient tyres.	5

INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

13 A vehicle falling within two or more classes specified in this Schedule shall be treated as falling within that class for which the lowest limit of speed is specified.

14 (1) In this Schedule " dual-purpose vehicle " means a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods or burden of any description being a vehicle of which the unladen weight does not exceed 2 tons and which either—

(a) satisfies the conditions as to construction specified in the following sub-paragraph ; or

(b) is so constructed or adapted that the driving power of the engine is, or by the appropriate use of the controls of the vehicle can be, transmitted to all the wheels of the vehicle.

(2) The conditions as to construction referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above are the following:—

(a) the vehicle must be permanently fitted with a rigid roof, with or without a sliding panel;

(b) the area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat must—

(i) be permanently fitted with at least one row of transverse seats (fixed or folding) for two or more passengers and those seats must be properly sprung or cushioned and provided with upholstered backrests, attached either to the seats or to a side or the floor of the vehicle, and

(ii) be lit on each side and at the rear by a window or windows of glass or other transparent material having an area or aggregate area of not less than 2 square feet on each side and not less than 120 square inches at the rear;

(c) the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the backrests of the row of transverse seats satisfying the requirements specified in head (b)(i) of this sub-paragraph (or, if there is more than one such row of seats, the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the backrests of the rearmost such row) must, when the seats are ready for use, be not less than one-third of the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the rearmost part of the floor of the vehicle.

15 In this Schedule " load-carrying trailer " means a trailer, not being a living van or a glider trailer, which is constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of goods or burden of any description.

16 In this Schedule " glider trailer " means a trailer—

(a) which is designed and constructed for carrying a glider or ancillary equipment,

(b) the unladen weight of which does not exceed 10 hundredweight, and

(c) the overall length of which, excluding any towbar, does not exceed 33 feet.

17 In this Schedule " articulated vehicle " means a vehicle which consists of a motor vehicle drawing a trailer where the trailer is so attached to the drawing vehicle that part of the trailer is superimposed upon the drawing vehicle, and when the trailer is uniformly loaded not less than 20 per cent. of the weight of its load is borne by the drawing vehicle.

18 In this Schedule, in relation to a vehicle (including a trailer)—

(a) " fitted with pneumatic tyres " means that every wheel of the vehicle is fitted with pneumatic tyres ;

(b) " fitted with resilient tyres " means that every wheel of the vehicle is fitted either with pneumatic tyres or with other soft or elastic tyres ; and

(c) " equipped with springs and wings " means that the vehicle—

(i) is equipped with suitable and sufficient springs between each wheel and the frame of the vehicle, and

(ii) unless adequate protection is afforded by the body of the vehicle, is provided with wings or other similar fittings to catch, so far as practicable, mud or water thrown up by the rotation of the wheels.

19 In this Schedule " track-laying " means so designed and constructed that the weight is transmitted to the road surface either by means of continuous tracks or by a combination of wheels and continuous tracks, and " combined track-and-wheel vehicle " means a vehicle so designed and constructed that its weight is transmitted to the road surface by a combination of wheels and continuous tracks.

20 The conditions referred to in paragraphs 3(2) and 4(2) above are as follows:—

(a) the motor tractor, or, as the case may be, the locomotive, shall be equipped with an efficient braking system having two means of operation or with two efficient braking systems each having a separate means of operation, the system or systems being so designed and constructed that, notwithstanding the failure of any part (other than a fixed member or a brake shoe anchor pin) through or by means of which the force necessary to apply the brakes is transmitted, there is still available for application by the driver to not less than half the number of the wheels of the vehicle brakes sufficient under the most adverse conditions to bring it to rest within a reasonable distance ;

(b) the trailer shall be equipped with an efficient braking system so constructed—

(i) that when the trailer is being drawn the brakes are capable of being applied by the driver of the drawing vehicle to at least two of the wheels of a trailer having not more than four wheels and to at least four, but not less than half, of the wheels of a trailer having more than four wheels, and

(ii) that it is not rendered ineffective by the non-rotation of the engine of the drawing vehicle ;

(c) the weight transmitted to the road surface by any one wheel of the locomotive, where no other wheel is in the same line transversely, shall not exceed 4½ tons, the total weight so transmitted by any two wheels in line transversely shall not exceed 9 tons and the sum of the weights so transmitted by all the wheels shall not exceed—

(i) in the case of a vehicle having not more than four wheels, 14 tons,

(ii) in the case of a vehicle having more than four but not more than six wheels, 20 tons, and

(iii) in the case of a vehicle having more than six wheels, 24 tons;

(d) the weight transmitted by the locomotive (whether laden or unladen) to any strip of the surface of a road on which it rests contained between any two parallel lines drawn 2 feet apart on that surface at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle shall not exceed 11 tons ; and

(e) the maximum laden weight of the locomotive and trailer shall not exceed 22 tons or, if the trailer is fitted with power-assisted brakes which can be operated by the driver of the drawing vehicle and are not rendered ineffective by the non-rotation of its engine, and if that vehicle is equipped with a warning device so placed as to be readily visible to the driver when in the driving seat of the vehicle in order to indicate an impending failure or deficiency in the vacuum or pressure system, 32 tons.

21 For the purposes of this Schedule measuring or testing apparatus, and any ballast necessary in connection therewith, drawn upon one wheel by a vehicle, when used solely for or in connection with testing or measurement purposes, shall not, if the wheel is fitted with a pneumatic tyre and does not transmit to the road surface a weight exceeding 2 hundredweight, be treated as a trailer.

22 For the purposes of paragraphs 20 and 21 above, two wheels of a vehicle shall be regarded as one wheel if the distance between the centres of their respective areas of contact with the road is less than 18 inches.

23 A heavy motor car or motor car drawing a trailer and being used as a public service vehicle or as a goods vehicle shall be treated as not drawing a trailer if the trailer is used solely for the carriage of a container or containers for holding, or plant and materials for producing, for the purpose of the propulsion of the drawing vehicle, any fuel that is wholly gaseous at 60 degrees Fahrenheit under pressure of 30 inches of mercury.

24 (1) Paragraphs 1 to 4 above do not apply to, and paragraphs 5 to 12 above apply only to, track-laying vehicles and vehicles drawing track-laying trailers or trailers some of which are track-laying.

(2) Paragraphs 1 to 12 above do not apply to vehicles for the time being used in the conduct of experiments or trials under section 6 of the [1925 c. 68.] Roads Improvement Act 1925 or section 249 of the [1959 c. 25.] Highways Act 1959.