St John’s Ambulance London sticks with Mercedes-Benz 19 May 2010

Seven new ambulances have been drafted in by St John Ambulance's London (Prince of Wales) District, to work with the Children's Acute Transport Service (CATS), South Thames Retrieval Service (STRS) and helicopter crews from RAF Search & Rescue.

Six are based on 5.0-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 518CDI chassis, while the seventh is a 3.2-tonne Vito 120CDI Dualiner van with seating for five. All were supplied by Hatfield dealer S&B Commercials.

Powered by low-emission 184hp Euro 5 V6 engines matched to automatic transmissions, the Sprinters are fitted with box bodies built by German specialist WAS and equipped for use as paediatric intensive care ambulances. Meanwhile, the Vito has a 204hp V6 engine and is for use as back-up.

"St John Ambulance London's specialist ambulance teams have completed more than 10,000 retrievals since 2004," says Bradleigh Simms, commercial transport manager for the London District. "Over that period our vehicles have proved exceptionally reliable. So when we came to replace them we had no hesitation in returning to Mercedes-Benz."

And he continues: "Safety is also crucial to our operation and the Sprinter is the best equipped chassis on the market in terms of its standard active and passive features, which include the latest development of the Adaptive ESP stability system."

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd
S&B Commercials plc

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