It’s official. Every new heavy duty goods vehicle – that exceeds a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3 500 kilogrammes (kg), but not exceeding 9 000 kg – that rolls off the factory floor after December 1 this year, will need to be fitted with a speed governor.
This follows the signing into law – by the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters – the Twenty Fourth Amendment to the National Road Traffic Regulations that will make “speed governors” mandatory.
In the Government Gazette notice, Peters also highlighted that this regulation was applicable to a combination of vehicles as well – the “drawing vehicle” (horse) and one or two trailers – in which the sum total of the GVM exceeds 3 500 kg but not more than 9 000 kg.
Road traffic legislation consultant Alta Swanepoel explained that the speed governor had to be installed before the vehicle left the factory floor. A Department of Transport (DoT) notification states that all motor vehicle manufacturers would need to fit a speed governor into the vehicles before submitting their models to be examined by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) for compliance.
“This means that there will be no retro-fitting of vehicles after the fact,” Swanepoel said.
With effect from 11 November (last Friday), all heavy duty vehicles within the weight parameters indicated will be limited to a maximum 100 kilometres per hour. These vehicles also needed to be fitted with a 100km speed limit sticker.
