Amey invests £12.5m in safety-equipped vehicles

The waste firm has already introduced 74 new vehicles, with another eight due for delivery and plans for further investment this year.

Its new fleet has been designed with safety as a ‘top’ feature, including lower emissions, cycle risk technology and 360 degree cameras and lighting technology for improved visibility.

Other safety features include a verbal warning when the vehicle is turning left, with rear illumination to warn cyclists, additional amber flashing beacons, and reverse radar to assist the driver when reversing.

The investment includes a range of vehicle types, from 26-tonne capacity to 7.5 tonne capacity trucks with single and twin chambers.

Euro 6

The vehicles, which include Mercedes Econic RCVs, are set up to meet Euro 6 configuration, which includes lane departure warning and improved emissions standards, as well as brake assist in some vehicles if a hazard is detected.

Cycle Safety Shield, which uses facial recognition – rather than radar – to warn the driver of any potential risks to oncoming pedestrians or cyclists has also been incorporated into the new fleet.

Fleet

Commenting on the roll-out, Amey’s Environmental Services managing director, Rob Edmondson, welcomed improvements to the fleet.

He said: “We transport over 1.8million tonnes of waste and recycling every year from homes and businesses across the country, which means we have a large fleet on the roads every day.

“Safety is a top priority and we’re always looking at new ways to improve how we both deliver our services and keep our employees and local communities as safe as possible.

“The £12.5million investment in the new vehicles allows us to bring in a host of safety features which assist with this and which help our drivers as they carry out their duties.”