News story

Consultation on armoured vehicle speeds launched

Government plans to increase armoured vehicle speed limit to ease road congestion.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Tank

A consultation on plans to increase the speed limit for armoured vehicles has been launched today (13 March 2015).

British army tanks and other armoured tracked vehicles are currently restricted to a maximum speed of 20 mph under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

In order to prepare for operational deployments our armed forces need effective and appropriate training, and the government now plans to increase this speed limit to a maximum of 40 mph in England and Wales. Actual operating speeds will still depend on careful risk assessments by the military and specific vehicle capabilities.

The plans under consultation will help address congestion that can be created by slow-moving vehicles on faster roads. Increasing the maximum speed limit to 40 mph will also reduce costs of higher fuel consumption and the time taken for training and testing when vehicles are limited to 20 mph.

The consultation runs until April 24 2015.

Roads media enquiries

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

Switchboard 0300 330 3000

Updates to this page

Published 13 March 2015