IT is the sight no motorist enjoys – staring at the back end of a lorry as an otherwise clear road stretches out in front of them.

The frustration is keenly felt if not in time then in the money it is costing as they chug away doing the legally restricted speed of 40mph.

But all that could now be in the past after the Government increased the speed limits for heavy goods vehicles, meaning lorries can now be driven faster on the country’s roads.

The change in legislation saw speed limits in England and Wales for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) over 7.5 tonnes increase by 10mph, rising from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways.

But the cheers from happy motorists are being muted by road safety campaigners, who are warning the change could lead to more deaths and serious injuries.

Gary Rae, the campaigns manager for road safety charity Brake, said: “We are disappointed that the government has gone against the advice of road safety groups on this issue.

“The decision to increase HGV speed limits is short-sighted and runs against work to more effectively manage traffic speeds and reduce casualties on our roads.

"The relationship between speed and casualties is a proven one, so allowing the largest vehicles on our roads to reach higher speeds more often risks more deaths, serious injuries, and additional cost to the taxpayer.”

The change to speed limits amends previous regulation dating back to the 1980s.

The Government has predicted that the move, brought into force on April 6, will boost the economy by around £11 million.

However, the new higher speed limits for lorries has been met by a mixed reception, with motoring organisations welcoming the move, road safety campaigners criticising it and some haulage firms saying in reality it will have very little impact on their businesses.

“I think the speed limit increases are a good idea,” said Bob Terris, pictured below, chairman of Meachers Global Logistics, a haulage company in Nursling.

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“The technology on heavy goods vehicles has increased enormously in the past ten years and will continue to do so.

“I do not think it will adversely affect the number of accidents. It may have the opposite effect as car drivers will be less frustrated at following a HGV at a higher speed when they are unable to overtake.

“Relative to miles travelled the number of accidents in which HGVs are involved is very low. Our average is one accident for each 150,000 miles travelled – this is the equivalent of a car driver having one accident in every 15 years.

“In reality the difference the new legislation will make to our business will be minimal as the speed at which vehicles travel is very much dictated by the speed of other vehicles around them and the volume of traffic, so any advantage is likely to be offset by additional congestion.”

Vicky Colman, director of KRP Express Transport in Marchwood, said: “We welcome the new higher speed limits for HGV vehicles. The limits were outdated and needed updating given improved vehicle technology.

“I do not agree with safety campaigners saying accidents will increase – the speed differential often leads to vehicle bunching and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres by impatient drivers and the speed increase should help to steady the flow of traffic.

“We do not expect the new limits to affect our business – our vehicles mainly use motorways and are speed limited to 56mph already.”

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Mark Miller, chair of the planning & transport committee at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, also said he believed the freight industry would become more efficient.

He said: “The chamber welcomes the new speed limits for lorries as they will help the freight industry become more efficient by improving their delivery scheduling. This in turn will help this area’s economic development.

“However, such changes must be balanced out by due regard for general road safety considerations.

“The freight industry employs professionally trained staff to drive their lorries and their duty for professionalism in the way they control their vehicles should be reinforced.

“Indeed, all users of our roads should ensure they take due care and attention to prevailing speed limits and traffic conditions to ensure that our road networks operate as efficiently and safely as possible.”

Motoring organisation the RAC said it believed the changes to HGV speed limits may even improve road safety for all road users as the differential between HGVs and other road users has been reduced.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “A two-year experiment by the Danish road directorate shows accidents have fallen on singlecarriageway rural roads where the speed limit was raised.

“Accidents have also fallen on motorways where the speed limit has been increased.

“This study has revealed some very interesting, counterintuitive findings which are worthy of further investigation.

“For obvious reasons, there is a general belief that lower speed limits are needed to save lives but in discovering that closing the gap between the fastest and slowest vehicles can help to reduce the number of road casualties, the Danish study may well prove to be ground-breaking in years to come.

“What’s needed now are more studies to establish whether this reduction occurs in all instances."

But that was rounded rejected by Mr Rae, who said: “The government itself has admitted that this move will likely have no economic or road safety benefit.

“It is a move designed to legitimise the dangerous behaviour of those who already break the speed limit while putting the safety of the law-abiding majority second.

“It sets a dangerous precedent that if traffic laws are persistently flouted; the government would rather change them than enforce them.”