Tachoblog

Ok, it’s a dreadful pun, but there is a serious point behind it.

Mid Suffolk District Council have added a new Isuzu ‘Forward’ N62.150 refuse vehicle to its fleet with its prime role being a collection vehicle for litter and discarded rubbish by motorists on the notoriously busy A14 and A12 dual carriageways in Suffolk.

Mid Suffolk District Council already operates a number of Isuzus in its fleet and so were aware of the marque’s proven reputation for reliable performance. However, for this new operation, the Isuzu had to score highly in terms of a low chassis weight too. For safety reasons, the vehicle has to utilise the verges and these can be very soft. In order to reduce the risk of getting stuck, a light vehicle was the major requirement for the Council.

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The roadside litter collection also involves the Isuzu to be travelling at walking pace so that the operatives can collect litter and load it into the refuse body, whilst the vehicle is moving. This is where the specification of the Isuzu ‘Easyshift’ transmission was the perfect solution for this particular requirement.

As roadside litter collection is potentially a hazardous operation, Mid Suffolk decided to paint the Isuzu in bright yellow, as opposed to the council’s usual white livery. This vehicle needs to be highly visible on the road.

The litter clearance work for the A14 and A12 is part of a partnership scheme with Ipswich Borough Council & Babergh District Council. The 3 man team perform the litter clearance for all the A roads on a scheduled basis within the MSDC district as well as the partnership area boundaries.

“The high levels of traffic on these dual carriageways make clearing litter a dangerous proposition but we believe that the Isuzu specification is ideal for this job, and so far the vehicle has proved to be an effective addition to our fleet,” John Buckingham, Supervisor of the Streetcare team at Mid Suffolk District Council told Tachoblog.

Supplied by local Isuzu dealer, Peter Colby Commercials, the Isuzu N62.150 ‘Easyshift’ refuse vehicle is fitted with a Link Tip “Derby” tipping body that features Link Tip’s RS360 bin lift. The refuse body can lift 120 to 360 litre wheeled bins and features a slide door, on the near side, for hand collections.

Completing the Health and Safety measures, the vehicle has an audible warning for when the bin lift is in operation, front and rear LED high visual light bars, front grille LED’s, and high visual rear vehicle chevrons and directional arrow.

“With public safety a key issue, motorists are able to see this Isuzu well in advance and the whole specification was a team effort between the Council, Isuzu and Link Tip to ensure that the end result met with the Council’s exacting requirements,” said Keith Child, Marketing Director at Isuzu Truck (UK) Limited.