Knowing the speed limits of your van or pickup
Most vans and many pickups aren’t allowed to travel at the same speed limit as regular cars all of the time. So, before you start searching cars for sale in the UK with a view to trading in your current vehicle for more of a workhorse, it might be important to understand how this will impact you on the journeys you do most regularly.
When is the speed limit different for vans?
If the van you drive is classed as a light commercial vehicle (up to 3,500kg gross vehicle weight; anything heavier requires a specialist licence) it will be limited to a lower speed than a conventional car on certain roads. The most important examples of this are single-carriageway national speed limit roads which usually have a speed limit of 60mph and dual carriageways which usually have a speed limit of 70mph.
In a van, you’re legally limited to 50mph on those 60mph roads, and instead of 70mph on a dual carriageway, you’re only allowed to go 60mph. Both of these are important because if the police find you going at the regular speed limit, they will stop you and fine you for speeding – including adding points to your licence. Some speed cameras also know the difference between a van and a car in these situations.
What about the speed limit for pickup trucks?
Pickup trucks are slightly more complicated – in that some of them are allowed to travel as fast as a car but some of them aren’t. The difference comes down to how the pickup truck is classed. If it’s a pure working vehicle, it’s limited to the same speeds as a van. But if it’s a dual-purpose vehicle, meaning that it has (at least) two rows of seats, four-wheel drive, a fixed rigid roof, the correct amount of windows, and the right ratio between the passenger area and the load area, then a pickup is allowed to travel at car speed limits.
Working pickups that are limited to van speed limits include two-seater models, those that are two-wheel drive only, and pickups that have an unladen weight greater than 2,040kg. The weight element is particularly important because many well-equipped double-cab pickups that otherwise meet the dual-purpose criteria will fall foul of this rule.
When is the speed limit the same for vans and pickups?
All vans and pickups below the 3,500kg gross vehicle weight threshold is allowed to travel at the same speed as cars in 30mph, 40mph and 50mph limits – and on the motorway, where the speed limit is 70mph.
Are there any vans that can travel at the same speed as cars all the time?
Car-derived vans are allowed to travel at car speed limits at all times. But this isn’t really very surprising because these are commercial vehicle versions of passenger cars, specially adapted by removing their rear seats and blanking out the rear side windows. These usually have all the normal car creature comforts as well, but can’t carry as much as a proper van.
Camper vans are also allowed to travel at car speed limits – including third party and private conversions. These don’t even need to be registered as a so-called ‘motor caravan’ with the DVLA, but they must have the correct ‘internal features’. As long as this is the case, you are safe to go as legally fast as a car, and if you receive a ticket for exceeding the van speed limit you will be able to challenge this by showing the motor caravan internal features rules have been met.
Is it worse to get caught speeding in a van?
If you get caught speeding in a van it is entirely possible that you might face a stiffer penalty than someone caught speeding in a car. While fixed penalty notices will be applied the same way, if you end up in court, the type of vehicle will certainly be taken into account, and since vans and pickups often have the potential to be much heavier than most cars (up to 3,500kg, loaded) this will be considered more dangerous.
Other factors that influence court decisions include where the speeding offence took place (near a school would be bad, for example), the weather conditions, and the number of people on board.