2006-10-19 TRANSLINC 6X6 VOLVO SNOWPLOUGH/GRITTERS WITH GPS AID DRIVER CONCENTRATION

Four new FM 6x6 snowplough/gritters have entered service with Lincolnshire County Council - the first Volvo 6-wheel drive winter-maintenance vehicles to go into service with the County.

Thanks to the Danish-built EPOKE intelligent gritter system, which was fitted by Bunce in Swindon, drivers of the new Volvo’s can concentrate fully on the road ahead as the amount of grit to be dispensed is automatically managed by the GPS controlled system.

Route and gritting data is held on a device similar to a mobile phone SIM card. A wet mix of brine and salt is laid down on the road over a pre-programmed route and known areas which require extra salt are also programmed in and the amounts controlled by the EPOKE system. Gritting is automatically suspended if the driver strays off route. Normal service is resumed once the vehicle is back on its approved track, resulting in a more cost-effective use of salting materials.

The 380hp Volvo trucks - equipped with Volvo’s 6-speed, fully-automatic Powertronic transmission - were supplied by Local Authority transport services provider Translinc who purchased them from Volvo Dealer Crossroads Truck and Bus at Rotherham.

They are being operated by a three-way partnership between the County Highways Department, Translinc and the Ringway Group, who provide drivers and loading services.

According to Translinc’s Fleet Consultant Rob Hobson, although the vehicles will be used on major routes across the County, all-wheel drive was needed to cope with the snow drifts which occur most winters on the hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds; a rural area with many narrow roads and small villages. “The Volvo’s will be operating on the majority of the 43 main routes, and will provide snowplough and gritter cover for around 1,910 miles of roads out of the County’s total network of 5,468 miles. The area they will cover extends from Grimsby to Skegness, Louth and Lincoln. The County Council needed versatile and capable machines as they will have to handle some serious ploughing in a wide variety of conditions.”

Specification details for the 26 tonne GVW gritters includes factory fitted ploughing lights, 315/80R tyres on all axles, Eminox stainless-steel vertical exhaust and a 3900mm wheelbase. A built-in reversing camera operates via Volvo’s pop-up colour monitor and is used for viewing the spinner. Payload is 9 cubic metres of salt plus 3,200 litres of brine solution. Translinc have operated Volvo’s on Lincolnshire’s winter maintenance fleet since 2001 and now have 36 vehicles.

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