Industry News from Yes Insurance

The decision to lower the speed limits of vans to 56 mph has been praised by van fleet and rental company Ryder, who insist that there are long term benefits to be gained from the EU ruling.

Ryder's comments were made in response to motorists' complaints about the EU directive which will see all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes having their speed limiters recalibrated to restrict their maximum speed to 56mph from January 1st 2007.

Peter Backhouse, vice-president and managing director of Ryder Europe, commented that all of its rental vehicles to be affected by the legislation would have their speed setters realigned as "a matter of course".

"We are in the midst of an active campaign to educate customers, managers and drivers and we believe that most will appreciate the long term benefits of these new laws," he said.

"Lower speeds will provide improved fuel economy, which in turn will reduce operating costs and have a beneficial effect on the environment.

"Road safety is high on everybody's agenda at the moment, so the opportunity to reduce the number of high speed trucks and vans on our roads should be grasped with both hands," he continued.

Mr Backhouse also commented that by reducing the speed of the vans, the number of traffic accidents would go down, reducing potential damage to goods, driver stress and van insurance premiums.

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