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DAF helps Scottish cities prepare for winter

Municipal Vehicles
Much of the UK might be experiencing an Indian summer this week, but Dundee is preparing for the onslaught of winter, with the arrival of three DAF-based gritter-snowploughs.
Tayside Contracts, the commercial wing of Dundee City Council and the Councils of Angus and Perth and Kinross, says it will use these vehicles in Dundee, where their more compact size is more suited to the urban environment. The 18-tonne LF55s are powered by six-cylinder GR165 engines, which deliver 300bhp and 1,100Nm of torque between 1,200 rpm and 1,900 rpm, to help keep the trucks moving, even in severe weather conditions. As for the gritting element, an engine mounted PTO drives a hydraulic pump for the gritting equipment and plough, and each of the DAFs has been fitted with long chassis brackets, complete with a carrier plate that allows a 3,050 x 900mm steel scraper blade to be attached. It's serious stuff: the scraper comes with a three-stage, marine specification power angle ram to enable slewing from left to right, which can be operated from the cab. "These are impressive vehicles that will play an important part in keeping Dundee's roads clear and safe for local people to use in the winter months," says Bob Ritchie, transport manager at Tayside. He explains that, given the corrosive nature of rock salt, extensive measures have been taken to provide additional protection for the vehicles and bodies. These include shrouding all electrical cables in UPVC conduits and enhancing the paint finish by applying one coat of zinc rich primer and two coats of two pack polyurethane to the cab, along with a heavy-duty gelled thixotropic bitumen solution to the chassis. To increase the flexibility in deployment of the trucks, and as an added safeguard for drivers working alone, each gritter is also fitted with a web-based real-time tracking system using GPS. A 'gritting in progress' sign supplements the hazard beacons and the salt spinner assembly incorporates a spring-loaded break system to reduce damage in the event of a rear impact. "The DAF LF55 is well specified for the job, providing a warm, comfortable and safe working environment for the driver, and delivering ample power to deal with the demands of gritting and ploughing," comments Ritchie.

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