As snow and ice hit Britain for a second winter running, councils are putting ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) to effective use. Trafford, West Yorkshire, is using two adapted quad bikes for gritting of key pedestrian areas; one in the north and one in the south of the borough. Indeed the bikes have already been in action on Warburton Bridge at the onset of winter. The quad bikes have a trailer attached which spreads a salt solution which has a similar effect to grit. The special quad bikes also come with a plough for clearing away snow from a patch of pavement that’s about to be gritted.
Alan Mitchell, an Executive Councillor, stressed the advantages of using quad bikes for gritting over previous methods which were more labour intensive.
This news comes as a timely reminder of the sheer versatility of the quad bike, a vehicle already in intensive use on farms and estates around the UK. Quad bikes are particularly adept at traversing difficult, perhaps otherwise impenetrable, terrain. However, they are also highly manoeuvrable, so are equally well suited to beaches, where they are used by lifeguards, and on golf courses for general transportation. Quad bikes are even deployed in airports for carrying luggage and other heavy loads.
ATV retailers are now well geared up to supporting the working quad bike. For instance, farmers wishing to acquire new or used quad bikes in Lancashire, one of the UK’s agricultural hubs, should have little problem in finding just the right ATV for their purposes.