Since the inception for TFL’s game changing direct vision standard, Ashvale Haulage was fully on board with the scheme and the leap forward in road safety that it has the potential to offer. The Direct vision standard (DVS) rates vehicles into 4 categories; 0 star, 1 star, 3 star and 5 star DVS ratings. From the 26th of October vehicles with a 0 star DVS rating are not permitted to enter London and the greater London area. From 2024 the minimum standard for entry will be raised to the 3 star standard.

Being an early adopter of this standard, Ashvale Haulage had reached 100% compliance with the minimum 1 star DVS standard quite some time ago, however always striving for improvements in road and site safety the M O’Brien group company set itself the target to go above and beyond and achieve over 50% compliance with 3 star DVS standard and above before the end of 2021.

With the addition of 20 Scania P410 XT semi low cab tipper lorries fitted with Thompson Bodies, the lorry of choice for Ashvale haulage since 2019, it pushes the fleets compliance with 3 star DVS above the targeted 50%. The XT model’s provided by Scania offer greater visibility thanks to its lowered cab, narrower A pillar uprights as well as its glass panel within the passenger door.

Jack Dowd – Transport manager “We take road safety very seriously at the M O’Brien group of companies, and to meet this target ahead of schedule means a great deal to us. We now have our sights on our next DVS target’s which include 100% fleet compliance with a 3 star DVS and to begin the implementation of a number of 5 star rated vehicles in the coming months. When routing our transport we have been focusing on deploying the 3 star vehicles to the urban environments in order to maximise our protection of vulnerable road users, something that our drivers have found very helpful when operating in built up areas. The addition of 20 units to the fleet is a big boost for us and allows us to continue to provide our customers with a consistent quality backed service”