Page 35 - Company Supplied Vehicles, Drivers' Manual v3

3.12 Speed limits and speed limiters

It is important for the safety of all road users, your own entitlement to drive and the good
standing of Glen Dimplex that you obey posted speed limits.

The law prohibits most commercial vehicles (vans) from travelling faster than 50 mph on single
carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways. Some vans may be registered as a ‘car-
derived van’ in which case the speed limits are the same as a car, but this is the exception not
the rule therefore Glen Dimplex policy is to apply the lower speed limits to all commercial
vehicles.

You should drive at safe speeds in towns and villages and stay within the limits:

• Watch out for speed limit signs. Repeater signs are not common in 30 mph zones and
some signs may be small or covered by mud or foliage.
• Check your speedometer regularly. It only takes a fraction of a second and should be as
automatic as checking your mirrors. Remember that breaking limits by just a few miles
per hour can be fatal.
• Use your gears. As you approach a 20 mph or 30 mph zone from a higher limit road
switch to a lower gear. If you are driving on a 20 mph or 30 mph road and are travelling
downhill also switch to a lower gear to prevent you unwittingly picking up speed.

3.13 Speed and vehicle incidents

Inappropriate speed choice contributes to incidents resulting in serious injury and death. This
includes both 'excessive speed' when the speed limit is exceeded but also driving or riding
within the speed limit when this is too fast for the conditions e.g. poor weather, poor visibility or
high pedestrian activity.

Drivers and riders who are travelling at inappropriate speeds are more likely to crash and their
higher speed means that the crash will cause more severe injuries to themselves and to other
road users. Inappropriate speed also magnifies other driver errors such as driving too close or
driving when tired or distracted, multiplying the chances of these types of driving causing a
vehicle incident.

Approximately two thirds of all crashes in which people are killed or injured happen on roads
with a speed limit of 30 mph or less. At 35 mph a driver is twice as likely to kill someone as
they are at 30 mph.

Commercial Drive4Life Handbook – January 2022 (Glen Dimplex Fleet Assistance – 01604 747269) Page 34 of 37