Road Traffic Act 1960

Section 24.

FIRST SCHEDULE Limits of speed for Vehicles of certain Classes or Descriptions

Class or description 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) vehicles having an unladen weight exceeding three tons, or adapted to carry more than seven passengers exclusive of the driver	30
(2) vehicles drawing trailers—
(a) in the case of a motor car adapted to carry not more than seven passengers exclusive of the driver, if the trailer is a close-coupled four-wheeled trailer or is two-wheeled	30
(b) in the case of a motor cycle, if the trailer is two-wheeled	30
(c) in any other case	20
(3) invalid carriages	20
(4) vehicles not fitted with pneumatic tyres, and vehicles drawing trailers not fitted with pneumatic tyres	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	30
(2) vehicles drawing trailers, not being articulated vehicles	20
(3) vehicles not fitted with pneumatic tyres, if drawing trailers or having an unladen weight exceeding one ton, and vehicles drawing trailers not fitted with pneumatic tyres	20
(4) vehicles not fitted with resilient tyres	5
3. Motor tractors:—
(1) generally	20
(2) if drawing two or more trailers	5
(3) if not fitted with resilient tyres	5
4. Heavy locomotives and light locomotives:—
(1) generally	12
(2) if drawing more than two trailers	5
(3) if not fitted with resilient tyres	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 descriptions specified in this Schedule shall be treated as falling within that description 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 two tons and which either—

(a) satisfies the conditions as to construction specified in the next 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 the last foregoing sub-paragraph 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 two square feet on each side and not less than one hundred and twenty 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 (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 " close-coupled", in relation to a trailer, means that the wheels on the same side of the trailer are so fitted that at all times while it is in motion they remain parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trailer, and that the distance between the centres of their respective areas of contact with the road surface does not exceed thirty-three inches.

16 In this Schedule " articulated vehicle " means a vehicle with a trailer 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 twenty per cent. of the weight of its load is borne by the drawing vehicle.

17 In this Schedule, in relation to a vehicle (including a trailer), " fitted with pneumatic tyres " means that every wheel of the vehicle is fitted with pneumatic tyres, and " fitted with resilient tyres " means that every wheel of the vehicle is fitted either with pneumatic tyres or with other soft or elastic tyres.

18 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.

19 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 sixty degrees Fahrenheit under a pressure of thirty inches of mercury.

20 (1) Paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Schedule do not apply to, and paragraphs 5 to 12 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 of this Schedule do not apply to vehicles for the time being used in the conduct of experiments or trials under section six of the Roads Improvement Act, 1925, or section two hundred and forty-nine of the Highways Act, 1959.