Premiership coach operator puts safety first

To demonstrate the added safety it provides to its clients, and to keep ahead of future legislation, Ellisons Travel Services, who transport many Premiership Football Clubs, is fitting Alcolocks – an alcohol activated vehicle immobiliser - to its entire coach fleet.

‘At Ellisons, all our clients are highly valued and fitting Alcolocks confirms our commitment to their safety,’ said David Dawson, Engineering Manager of Ellisons Travel Services.

‘We are fortunate to have a team of extremely professional drivers who adhere to strict guidelines where alcohol is concerned, but the Alcolock system removes any doubt for everyone. We also expect the industry will soon adopt Alcolocks as standard, and if so, Ellisons will be ‘ahead of the game’,’ he continued.

The Alcolock can be retro-fitted to any vehicle and is a ‘Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device’ with a hand held breathalyser which can be programmed to a pre-set or zero-tolerance alcohol limit, and if it detects enough alcohol in the driver’s system ensures the driver cannot drive by using a wireless system to automatically prevent the engine from starting.

Alcolocks are already used extensively in Sweden, Canada, North America and Australia, and could soon become a legal requirement in Europe as fleet managers come under increasing legal responsibility to ensure, and demonstrate, their drivers are operating at appropriate standards to protect themselves, passengers and other road users. The Swedish Government is already drafting legislation to have Alcolocks fitted to all new buses and trucks by 2010, and cars by 2012.

Ellisons Travel Services, which was recently awarded Coach Operator of the Year (11-30 vehicles) in the Route One Operator Excellence Awards 2007, transports many of the Premiership Football Clubs, a number of Rugby League and Union Clubs, including England Rugby, and specialises in corporate hospitality. Its coaches are some of the best in the country with extremely high specifications, including, bespoke leather interiors, WiFi, DVD, climate control and kitchens with a full hostess service available. Covering the whole of the UK from its base in Merseyside, each coach typically covers around 75,000 km a year.

Full details of the Ellisons coach operations are available at ellisonstravel.com, or for the Alcolock 500 from alcolockgb.com.