Everything You Need To Know About Road Sweepers

Road sweepers do extremely valuable work and are a fairly common sight in Britain, clearing our streets of dust and debris, keeping them clean. However, many commercial businesses are now employing such vehicles for their own private roadways and access roads. However, before you consider road sweeper hire for yourself, there's a few things you’ll want to know.

 

As far as the average motorist is concerned, road sweepers fall into the same category as refuse collection vehicles, along with RCV’s and tractor pulling trailers. We all have an expectation for our roads to be cleared of litter and general detritus, our bins emptied, and materials transported. They may not be held in the highest esteem by commuters and pedestrians due to their slow-speed, but sweepers are an essential piece of machinery that classify as one of the fundamentals of many local authorities fleet of municipal vehicles. Despite many cuts being made to local authorities, the industrial cleaning sector has largely not impacted negatively from this.

 

One of the most favoured models of road sweeper is the conventional model, this type operates using two spinning brushes at the front to remove litter, a cylindrical brush near the rear of the vehicle which deposits the detritus into a storage hopper. A pair of water jets underneath decrease the amount of dust and dirt emitted into the air during the procedure. In some circumstances the cylindrical brush will be replaced by a nozzle for a more accurate clean.

Why are they so important? 

Whether its an average day on the streets or theres a big event on like a carnival, festival, or fête - our roads and streets take a constant battering by foot and vehicle - not to mention general litter. Here are just a few of the main benefits of road sweepers…

They promote safety 

Whether it's a small piece of glass or a shard of metal, damage to tyres is one of the most common causes for car breakdown in the UK, not to mention notorious for huge pileups. Although you may not realise it, ridding the roads and streets of dust and debris can massively decrease the amount of road accidents that happen.

Prevention of flooding 

In extreme weather, the guttering that runs along the sides of roads can get plugged up with rubbish and soil, this build up gets trapped in the drain - then prevents run-off from going into the sewage. A flooded road is not only a danger to the traffic but also the environment - particularly if there’s wetland nearby. The runoff from flooding can also be filled with a mixture of nasty chemicals that can spill into low-lying land and damage vegetation and wildlife.

 

Environmental protection 

Roadside rubbish may contain old takeaway wrappers and food packaging that can attract wild animals. Animals cannot distinguish the difference between food and inorganic materials such as paper and plastic packaging, so it's likely that those will be eaten too - which is extremely dangerous and potentially life threatening. 

Looking for a road sweeper? At Graham Churchill our road sweepers can be hired out on a one-off basis or on a contract basis. Based in Silverstone, we can hire out to locations in Oxford, Northampton, and throughout surrounding areas. Unsure what kind of road sweeper you need? Get in touch today for more information.