Speeding with a trailer.

Drakon

Registered User
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Earlier this week, as I drove along in my pickup, with a trailer attached, I passed the third speed check of my return journey and I got wondering...

I’m travelling in a 100kmph zone.
Imagine I’m driving at 90kmph in my pickup with a trailer hitched.
Therefore my legal speed limit is 80kmph.

Could I be caught speeding by a speed van or a speed camera? Possible or impossible?
Does the camera go, “he’s OK, he’s doing 90. Hang on, he’s got a trailer, he’s speeding, >CLICK<, two penalty points for you”.

If it was a Garda with a speed gun there’s a good chance of being caught, I suppose.
But what of a van/camera?
 
But what of a van/camera?



How could it identify you were pulling a trailer, surely its only activated when the speed limit is exceeded? And your vehicle although has a speed restriction when hooked up to a trailer, the registered vehicle is not limited in speed to the camera and therefor should not be identified as exceeding the limit.
A garda on the other hand can observe the misdemeanor and act accordingly.
 
How could it identify you were pulling a trailer, surely its only activated when the speed limit is exceeded? And your vehicle although has a speed restriction when hooked up to a trailer, the registered vehicle is not limited in speed to the camera and therefor should not be identified as exceeding the limit.
A garda on the other hand can observe the misdemeanor and act accordingly.
The speed vans aren't automated as far as I'm aware, they need someone to operate them.
 
they need someone to operate them.

One of questions asked was if Van/Camera, and I take that to be a static camera, can identify that you are breaking the speed limit with a trailer? How can it tell you are pulling a trailer on a static camera??

In a van, is the operative also checking the speed limit restrictions on vehicles, apart from the road speed restrictions?
 
All those trucks driving down the N7 at 90km before it becomes the M7 around Naas must be speeding so.
 
Nope. They can only do 90kph on a motorway.
You are right, the maximum speed limit for trucks is 80kmh on all roads except motorways where it is 90kmh. Page 117 here; https://www.rsa.ie/Documents/RotR BOOK for web 2019.pdf

The N7 between Red Cow and Naas is one of the busiest national roads in the country, but it is not a motorway, it is a national road and only becomes the M7 motorway around Naas, as such trucks are only allowed to do 80kmh on it.

More often than not there is a speed van somewhere on this stretch, so how are the thousands of trucks every day driving this road and many other similar national roads at 90kmh not being done for speeding ?

It would support the argument that these speed vans only register vehicles travelling above a set speed, presumably over 100kmh for the N7 and it does not know if it is a car, a car with a trailer, or a truck.

There are also many many garda checks on this stretch, their speed guns could be set to over 8okmh and only target trucks, as a frequent traveller on this road they also only appear interested in those doing over 100kmh.
 
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