The Metropolitan Police’s Cycle Safety Team has put on the road a Mercedes-Benz Actros in police livery, which will be used for its Exchanging Places cyclist awareness initiative.
Supplied by Mercedes dealer Sparshatts of Kent, the Actros 2545 has a BigSpace cab and a 449hp straight-six engine. It also has blue lights on the front grille for promotional purposes.
It was put on the road as there was a need for a dedicated vehicle on the fleet, alongside the trucks already donated by supporting operators. It will not be used for patrols or enforcement.
Since its launch in 2007, the Met Police claimed that more than 15,000 cyclists have taken part in the initiative, which gets cyclists sitting behind the wheel of a truck to see for themselves the potential danger cycling too close to the side of an HGV can put them in.
Police sergeant Simon Castle of the Roads and Transport Policing Command said: "We are grateful to Mercedes-Benz and Sparshatts of Kent for supplying us with this vehicle, which is perfect for our Exchanging Places programme.
“The feedback from these events is overwhelmingly positive, with 97% of cyclists saying they would change their riding as a result of sitting in the driver’s seat, and 99% would recommend it to a friend."
Sparshatts of Kent dealer principal Andrew Sparshatt said: “The Actros looks stunning in its Metropolitan Police livery and will, I feel sure, be an invaluable aid to Sgt Simon Castle and his colleagues in helping them to increase awareness among cyclists of what HGV drivers can – and more importantly cannot – see from their cabs.”
The Met Police used an MAN TGX for its Exchanging Places events in 2014.
