This may not look like it, but what you're seeing here is a very special Mitsubishi Fuso Canter. How so Oh Great One? I hear you say. Well because it's one of three Canters who carry special kit to measure the wear and tear on road surfaces in city centres and throughout Britain's B, C and unclassified road networks. Armed with an array of high-tech (isn't it always?) electrical equipment to measure the skid resistance of highways the Canter triplets are helping road engineers plan when the carriageway need resurfacings.
They're run by Bristol-based W.D.M. www.wdm.co.uk which builds and supplies specialist road survey vehicles, as well as providing surveying services to public sector and large civil engineering contractors. Their arrivals follow the successful introduction of an identical Canter, which entered service last year.
Now pay attention as here's the 'science bit'. On each vehicle there's a device called a SCRIM - which as you all know stands for Sideway-force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine which features all sorts of complex electronic monitoring doodads linked to a free-rotating wheel, which is aligned at 20 degrees to the direction of travel. Got that so far? Now water from a 2,000-litre tank is sprayed onto the road in the path of this wheel, and the wet road skidding resistance generated by the surface can then be accurately assessed. Easy eh? Meanwhile the Canter's Double crewcab handily houses all the computer gubbins used by the two-man team of driver and operator to carry out surveys. Now click through here for more...
WDM employs a range of survey vehicles to monitor different aspects of road quality, including camber and surface deformations such as potholes, wheel ruts and cracking. Many are mounted on 26-tonne truck chassis, which are ideal for motorways, trunk and A roads. But, Technical Director Ian Willis tells Biglorryblog that their size makes them unsuitable for use in areas with narrow roads and dense traffic problems. "The Canter, by contrast, is ideal for such environments," he adds. "Its forward-control cab and compact dimensions offer excellent visibility and manoeuvrability, while the 180hp 5.0-litre engine provides ample performance. What's more, the chassis also has an exceptionally high payload capacity for its size."
"Our Canters are proving a great success," continues Ian. "They allow us to take our equipment into areas that have previously been very difficult to reach, such as urban and rural rush hour 'rat runs'."
Many years back I owned a Mitubishi Canter and it was really good at finding potholes. As with all little Jap trucks there was not enough room to fit a suspension seat. Hopefully the new ones ride better.
Pete,
The Council of the City of Dubbo has finally seen the light - instead of Isuzus, they are buying the Fuso Canter Crew Cabs!
Joe