Farmers driving larger types of pickup on the road may be subject to lower speed limits, warns the NFU in its latest briefing note. It adds that some of its members are being pulled over by the police for inadvertently exceeding the legal speed limit for the vehicle.

The legislation is confusing. Doublecab four-wheel drive pickups (described as “dual purpose vehicles” in the legislation) such as the Navara, Hilux, Ranger, D-Max, L200, Amarok and Steed, with an unladen weight of less than 2,040kg, can be legally driven at the same maximum speeds as a car.

That’s 60mph on single carriageways (where the national speed limit applies), 70mph on dual carriageways and 70mph on motorways

But some farmers travelling at these speeds are being stopped by the police, who say they should be staying within the lower speed limits that apply to light goods vehicles. These are 50mph on single carriageways, 60mph on dual carriageways and 70mph on motorways.

One reason may be that the extra weight of fitments such as a hard top could be taking some vehicles over the 2,040kg unladen weight threshold into a “light goods” category where lower speed limits apply.

Or it could be a matter of different interpretations of the rules by individual policemen or forces.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that towing a trailer limits you to a maximum speed of 50mph on single carriageways and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways – irrespective of what you are driving.

Have you been stopped for speeding in a pickup? Let us know what happened by emailing david.cousins@rbi.co.uk

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