Over the years, more than a few Ford vehicles have patrolled beaches around the globe, largely with one purpose in mind – helping lifeguards save people that find themselves in some sort of predicament. This was true of the Ford Escape Hybrid, which was a common sight on the beaches of Southern California back in the 2000s, as the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Service utilized a fleet of 45 Escape Hybrids as part of an effort to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in that area. It’s also the case in UK, where the top-selling Ford Ranger has long patrolled beaches in that part of the world – and will continue to do so.
Over the past six years, The Blue Oval has supported the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) by supplying it with a fleet of Ford Ranger pickups, which have patrolled 249 beaches across the UK and Channel Islands over that time span. Now, the automaker has extended that commitment by supplying RNLI with a fleet of newly redesigned Rangers, maintaining its status as the official vehicle of lifeguards that serve in that unit. The new RNLI Ford Ranger pickups will play an important role in RNLI’s daily patrols, which it’s well-suited for thanks to its off-road capability and payload/towing capacities.
“We are delighted to continue and expand our role in supporting RNLI Lifeguards, and the outstanding work they do,” said Mandy Dean, Commercial Vehicle Director, Ford of Britain and Ireland. “Seeing new Ford Rangers being deployed across select UK beaches shows the all-round dependability of the vehicle to meet the requirements of the RNLI Lifeguard role.” Since the RNLI started their lifeguard patrols in 2001, they have saved 2,085 lives, responded to over 313,000 incidents and helped 423,044 people.
“The beach can be a tough operating environment, we expect a lot from our lifeguards and so we expect a lot from the equipment we provide them,” added Peter Dawes, General Manager, Lifeguard Operations. “The vehicles have to operate over difficult terrain, launch and recover our rescue watercraft and allow the lifeguards to operate remotely from other facilities. Our trials test that the vehicles will be safe and reliable to support the demands of the service.”
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