The traditional ice cream van man or woman used to be an everyday sight and sound, even in the winter. Those days are nearly over it seems.
Did you know that in the 1970’s there were around a quarter of a million ice cream vans on UK roads? Fast forward to 2017 and it’s estimated there are around 2500.
So the writing is on the wall for the ice cream van trade by the looks of it, which is a shame because who doesn’t remember hearing the familiar sound of your local ice cream van when you were a kid, and then running out of the house to get a 99 flake or those ice creams with the bubble gum at the bottom.
It makes you wonder why such a popular national institution such as the ice cream van looks to be going the way of the dinosaurs.
According to the CEO of the Ice Cream Association there is one particular culprit that not many people realise…and it isn’t what you might think.
“Double Glazing” has been blamed for the near extinction of ice cream vans, mainly because it is claimed that children or their parents can no longer hear the familiar chimes of the van coming down the road.
Most kids are sat inside playing on their computer or surfing the internet and updating social media, blissfully unaware that an ice cream van is outside waiting for their pocket money.
Waiting…and waiting….and waiting…and waiting, that is what many ice cream van owners did, but because of double glazing nobody knew they were around, and this led to many selling their ice cream vans and then going down the local job centre to see what van driving jobs there was, no doubt.
One expert commented, “even if a van is right outside their house, people may not hear them. The whole point is to soundproof homes and keep them warm, but they are not good for ice cream vans.”
Is it all doom and gloom though? Maybe not, because a new company have just come up with a solution. It’s called Vantoot, which is an App that alerts users when the ice cream man or woman is about to come down the street. A good idea? Let’s wait and see.
The one thing I do know is that currently, as we speak, there are 2500 hard working ice cream van owners that go out on the roads of the UK to keep on selling the nations favourite snacks.
In my opinion, these people should be rewarded for their persistence and dedication to the tradition that we all know and remember, and what better way to do that than with cheap van insurance.
Right here, you can quickly and easily compare ice cream van insurance in order to save money so you can make more profit.
It only takes about 3 minutes to write down your details in the form (which is about the time it takes to serve a family with their favourite ice creams), and then, you instantly get quotes from over 40 insurance companies with potentially very cheap quotes for your ice cram van. Give it a try.