Speed limiters mooted for vans
The recommendation comes in a paper setting out the European Parliament's preliminary stance on cutting carbon emissions from vans. Parliament and the EU's 27 member countries will hammer out a final deal in the weeks ahead. “One ... way to tackle the problem would be to have mandatory speed limiters for light commercial vehicles” – by 2015, says the report. “These vehicles are almost exclusively used for commercial purposes and do not need to exceed 120 km/hour. The technology is available, it is a cheap and effective way of immediately lowering emissions and many commercial organisations retro-fit them to their vehicles." It suggests no changes to the short-term emissions target of 175g/km CO2, phased in from 2014 to 2016. The longer term 2020 target rises from 135g/km to 150g/km, while the penalty for van makers who exceed the targets drops from €120 to €95 a vehicle. The committee is due to vote on the report on 28 September 2010. However, the SMMT warned: “Such devices would result in an increase of lane changes for passing such vehicles reduction in traffic flow and increased risk of accidents. Furthermore, no further CO2 reduction can be achieved by mandatory installation of speed limitation devices.”
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Vans and light trucks should be fitted with mandatory speed limiters in the European Union to prevent them exceeding 120 km/hour and to improve their fuel efficiency, a new EU report has proposed.
