Impact Protection Vehicles; with SS90 LMCC and Light Arrows, ACones
Project Breakdown:
Client: A Cones
Partner: Bevan Group
Product: Impact Protection Vehicles fitted with SS90 LMCC and Light Arrows
Project Background:
A Cones commissioned a fleet of 10, highly bespoke impact protection vehicles (IPVs) built by Bevan Group and fitted with lorry mounted crash cushions and high-visibility light arrows, by Highway Care.
The subject of a consultative design and build process in which the customer was heavily involved, the trucks are based on 18-tonne Mercedes-Benz Antos chassis and incorporate several features that will make the job as safe and comfortable as possible for A Cones’ operatives.
Highway Care and Bevan group announced in January 2018, that operators of road maintenance and traffic management vehicles equipped with Highway Care safety systems would be offered extended, three-year warranty cover, and comprehensive service support, to include round-the-clock breakdown assistance, from Bevan’s Aftercare Response division.
So successful was this initiative, that we decided to develop a ‘one-stop shop’ impact protection vehicle design and build solution, to include the application of liveries by Bevan’s Graphics team.
Project Installation:
The A Cones vehicles are fitted with our heavy-duty Safe Stop 90™ crash cushions, which absorb rear-end impacts at speeds of up to 68 mph (110 kph compliant to TD49/07), and can be deployed at a travelling speed of up to 55 mph.
Potentially reusable, the Safe Stop 90™ boasts a galvanised external safety frame that offers protection against the low-speed ‘nuisance’ impacts – incurred, for example, when a vehicle is manoeuvering in a yard – which are a common cause of damage to crash cushions.
Project Outcome
One of the new vehicles was presented to A Cones Regional Director, Steve Pope on the joint Bevan-Highway Care stand at Traffex 2019, the show for road traffic management professionals.
Explaining the rationale behind A Cones’ biggest single fleet acquisition to date,
Steve Pope says: “We work for some very prestigious clients and wanted our new trucks to stand out from the rest, and to be a source of pride for the staff who work on and look after them."
We chose Mercedes-Benz chassis for the brand’s premium values, as well as its reputation for reliability and safety. And we chose Bevan and Highway Care to build and fit out the trucks, because we were attracted to the idea of being the first customer for their new partnership. The ‘one-stop shop’ proposition also made good sense; we haven’t had the hassle this time, for example, of taking the trucks elsewhere to get them liveried, as we’ve had to do in the past.
We’re delighted with the result, because our new IPVs look fantastic and are clearly built to last. Given this, they can only enhance our growing reputation as a quality service provider within the traffic and highways management industry.
The A Cones vehicles built by Bevan, are engineered to an exceptionally high standard. Innovative features of the IPV design for A Cones which give operatives more space to move around during deployments and collections include;
Dropsides
Sliding sideguards and hand rails
Hinged yellow cone well lids
Trip hazard prevention measures
Cone wells approx. 20% larger than usual 18-tonne IPVs
Beacon bars and front and rear-facing 4G recordable, downloadable and streaming camera systems
"We chose Bevan and Highway Care to build and fit out the trucks, because we were attracted to the idea of being the first customer for their new partnership. The ‘one-stop shop’ proposition also made good sense; we haven’t had the hassle this time, for example, of taking the trucks elsewhere to get them liveried, as we’ve had to do in the past."
Steve Pope, A Cones, Regional Director