News
16th July, 2019
Vehicle Life Limits
Recently a number of members have identified that the Mercedes Sprinter Ambulance vehicles they were operating had completed over 230,000km. The agreed vehicle life limits for Mercedes Sprinter Ambulances is 230,000km. Beyond that, they should NOT be operated.
If you arrive at shift and find that your ambulance is approaching 230,000 km you should contact AV Fleet department and advise them that the vehicle you are operating needs to be changed over.
If you arrive at shift and find that your ambulance is over 230,000 km you need to contact the Duty Manager as a matter of urgency and advise that your ambulance is not fit for operation.
Recently I gave agreement to extend vehicle life limits of 20 selected Mercedes Sprinter Ambulances to 250,000 after AV advised that an infestation of “Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs” had led to several ship loads of Mercedes vehicles being turned away by the relevant government authorities.
These vehicles went through a rigorous testing and servicing procedure before being reintroduced into operation. In fact only 18 met the standard. These vehicles were clearly identified by an obvious and clear red sticker on the vehicle windscreen.
This agreement was given in good faith and with strict parameters due to AV raising concerns about the shortage of available ambulances to service the community. It is important that this agreement regarding 20 selected and clearly identified vehicles is not misinterpreted to extend to other vehicles.
230,000 km is the life limit of a Mercedes Sprinter Ambulance.
If members have queries about this you can contact the Paramedic Staff Representative (Fleet and Equipment) in the first instance on 0400 561 867.
We also ask that you notify the VAU using the “Report Issue” function in the toolbar at the top of the page.
In Solidarity,