Government plans to increase speed limits to ease congestion

[gaz]

That's speed limits for armoured vehicles.

Will CTC be responding to the consultation or will they leave this one to motoring groups, SMIDSY?

[[XAP]Bob]

I can't recall ever being held up by a tank....

Is this really a major problem?

[[XAP]Bob]

1.2 Since1977,AVThavebeenoperatedonpublicroadsinEngland and Walesunderamistaken understandingthatsuchvehicles enjoyedadispensationfromthe20mphrestrictionfortracklaying vehicles(schedule6oftheRoadTraficRegulationAct1984and previouslegislation).Consequently,whentravelingtoandfrom trainingareas1andduringdrivertraining,vehicleswereoperatingat speedsofupto40 mphforvehiclesoflessthan40tonnesandup to30mphforthoseover40tonnesinaccordancewith Ministryof Defence(MoD)ArmouredVehicleStandingOrders2.
1.3 InOctober2013,investigationsrevealedthatmilitaryAVTwerenot exemptfromthe20mphspeedlimitfortracklayingvehicles.Army headquarters theni mposeda 20 mphrestrictionfor military AVT acrostheUK.
1.4 InNovember2014theMoDapproachedtheDepartmentfor Transportrequestinganincreaseinmaximum speedlimitto40mph for military AVT.
Thisconsultationconsidersthecaseforanincreaseinnational speedlimitinEnglandand Walesfor militaryAVT,toreflectthe speedsthatAVThavesafelybeentravelingforapproximatelythirty yearspriorto October2013.
1.6 Theactualoperatingspeedsofvehicleswildependoncarefulrisk assesmentbythe militaryalongwithspecificvehiclecapabilities.
1.7 TheproposedincreasewouldapplytomilitaryAVTonly.NonMoD tracklayingvehicleswilcontinuetoberestrictedtotheexisting 20mph maximumspeedlimit.

Stupid copy and paste...

Mil vehicles only, they've been operating under the assumption that the limit was 40 from '97 until just over a year ago anyway...

[gaz]

Is this really a major problem?

Perhaps only if you are a Major . Although the government seem to feel it is of General concern.

Doesn't apply to Private tanks.

[Tonyf33]

Shouldn't this be moved to the tea shop, this has virtually zero to do with cycling or the safety of cyclists

[Mick F]

Yes, I agree.
Thanks for flagging it up, and thanks to Gaz for reporting himself.

[Neil C]

I can't recall ever being held up by a tank....

Is this really a major problem?

About twenty years ago I was taking part in a mountain bike race on Salisbury Plain. Cycled round a corner and was confronted with a tank coming down the path towards me about 30 yards away.

I didn't wait to see if it would give way. I turned off the route and into the woods.

[goatwarden]

I used to frequently ride past Trenchard Lines, near Upavon, on my way between Bristol and Basingstoke. So I would regularly see all sorts of military hardware being tried out. On one occasion there was a tank parked up near the road, with one of its crew perched on top eating. As I rode past the gun swung to follow me, so I assume I was their (luckily pretend) target of the moment. That is the only time I was aware that I had been noticed and I wonder if that related to the incident an hour or so later in Devises whereby my rear wheel found some ice and the resulting fall broke my femur.

[gaz]

I can almost imagine the conversation.
Minister: “It’s about your tanks.”
General: “What about them.”
Minister: “You’re driving them too fast, the limit's 20mph.”
General: “Nonsense, we’ve got special dispensation to drive them at 40mph.”
Minister: “People have been complaining, so we checked and you haven’t. The limit is 20mph.”
General: “That will never do.”
Minister: “The law's the law, there’s no getting around it.”
General: “Change the law then.”
Minister: “We couldn’t possibly do that.”
General: "Our tanks have got very big guns.”
Minister: “I see your point, 40mph it is then.”

[Edwards]

I do not know about now but in the 1980s the Light Armoured Division TA used to motor down to Surrey for the weekend in their little tanks (as in Her Gruber types of vehicle).
It was told of at least one gun barrel contacting roadside stuff as the commander was sight seeing and looking at the girls.
I do not know if they still do? I bet some cyclists still tried to force their way past such a slow moving vehicle. Those London cyclists will pick on any motor vehicle.

[gaz]

I've never seen a "Cyclists stay back!" sign on the rear of a tank, despite their appalling blind spots .

A few years ago I had to pull in to someone's driveway to allow an oncoming Ferret to pass safely, wheeled vehicle so unaffected by these proposals. I got a thank you wave from the turret.

It belongs to a local collector, I'm glad he wasn't taking his Chieftain for a spin.

[pete75]

When I worked on a farm we were always told that it was illegal to use tracked vehicles on tarmacked public roads because it damaged the surface. We experimented with a big Cat D8 and it caused much damage.

[thirdcrank]

I can't be the only one who remembers the damage to a section of the surface of the A58 between Wetherby and Collingham by a tracked vehicle in the late 1950's. It was like that for several years before it was repaired and it was unpleasant to ride over. I never thought that suspects might be identified after so many years.

[[XAP]Bob]

Iirc some tracked vehicles have "road" tracks, basically rubber blocks bolted to the tracks...

[cjchambers]

One regularly sees tracked vehicles on the A36 around Warminster. Often with flashing orange beacons affixed, 'L' plates and a chap poking out of the top wearing a hi-viz vest . . . I wonder if there's a paralell park on the tank driving test? Certainly no need for the three point turn.

I've never seen anything bigger than a Warrior AFV on the road, although I saw a few Challenger IIs crossing roads on the Plain. There are actually hardened 'tank crossings' on some of the roads accross the ranges - I suspect a 60 tonne main battle tank is not too kind to tarmac.