Britannia Sandersteads has taken delivery of a further Euro 5 DAF 65 truck as part of its programme to comply with the London Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) requirements.

The six-container 18 ton 2,400 cubic foot vehicle will bring the company’s fleet of LEZ compliant vehicles up to 15. An additional order has been placed with DAF for two smaller 12 ton, four container, 1,600 cubic foot trucks that are due for delivery in September.

The decision to buy the 12 ton HGV vehicles rather than the 7.5 ton vans currently in use, was made following a change in legislation taking away ‘grandfather rights’ that allowed drivers who passed their car test after 1996 to drive 7.5 tonners without taking a further test.

Director Stuart Almandras explained; “Younger drivers coming up through the company will now have to take an HGV test to drive the 7.5 ton vans, so it makes sense to upgrade to 12 ton vehicles and gain the extra capacity. The 12 ton vans are just the ticket for jobs in central London as well as the leafy lanes of Surrey where we often have to negotiate long narrow driveways and cope with difficult parking.”