1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200 
The young ones
Page 64
Page 65
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Would your driving really stand up to scrutiny? That's the challenge 300 truck drivers under 30 were prepared to take, and Emma Penny went to see the top 12 in action at the UK finals of the Young European Truck Driver competition, organised by Scania.
Driving a truck isn't an easy business,not least when you've got a testing route, fuel economy, tricky manoeuvres, distance judging and an in-depth knowledge of the Highway Code to think about and prove — as well as being prepared to demonstrate your first aid skills.
That was the challenge facing 12 truck drivers competing in the UK final of the Young European Truck Driver of the Year competition earlier this month, organised by Scania and sponsored by Michelin and Shell.A1112 were under 30, and the least experienced had only passed his category CA-E 10 months ago, but all were finalists in a testing arena, which had seen 300 initial entries.
To get to the final, the 12 had to make it past an initial judging panel and then come in the top three in any of the four semi-finals.And why were they so keen to enter?
For the chance of winning an all-expensespaid trip to the European finals in Sweden to compete against the winners from 19 other countries That,couplecl with the ultimate prize: the trip of a lifetime to Brazil, including some Fl action, a trip to Rio and the chance to drive a road train in the Amazonian jungle.
After arriving for the briefing, they were shepherded into an exam room where they faced a theory question paper designed to test everything from their roadsign knowledge to tacho regulations.Then onto the practical tests.
Matthew Curtis and Jody Rust were first up to drive the Scania round the course —a challenging test with two hill sections, including one that could easily stall the vehicle if it wasn't in the right gear.
Challenges
Rust said his drive went well,including the hill. but Curtis,who drives an ERF with a twinsplitter for the family firm RC Curtis Road Haulage found it more of a challenge, with the Scania gearbox proving a great change. "I'm used to the twin-splitter: it's much harder work with a clutch!'
The manoeuvring section proved tricky for some: finalists had to drive through cones set at very narrow widths,reverse their rear wheels onto a target, then put their front wheels into a narrow box,drive over targets set out as a zig-zag with their front nearside wheel only, parallel park, and then do a serpentine round three barrels— forwards and in reverse!
Tony Warner found this section particularly challenging — a direct result of working for a Dutch company and driving a left-hand drive truck. "I was sitting on the wrong side of the cab! It was difficult to drive over the targets set out in the zig-zag, and it was difficult to judge width from the other side of the cab."
Other finalists found the manoeuvring tricky as nerves started to kick in, including MichaelTranter, Stephen Barker, and Rust. David Gowland also found the going tough on the pad: "I didn't do so well on the manoeuvring:it was nerves. I do these manoeuvres day in, day out; I just botched it up here—but I'll be back next time to have another go!"
Time spent practising manoeuvres before the competition under the eagle eye of Asda depot trainer Jon Hopkins paid off for Darren Jukes, who had the best score in this section. But even he wasn't too confident when CM spoke to him just afterwards:"It wasn't too bad — the parallel parking was the hardest bit.
After those challenges, vehicle fault-finding proved somewhat of a respite; most contestants managed to spot almost all the things wrong with the truck. But it wasn't quite so easy when they had to do the first aid test.
This involved a simulated road accident where competitors had to assess a situation they would be likely to come across in the job, then show and tell the judges what they would look for and do. In the final it was a car crash, and while most contestants managed to demonstrate their skills, John Glacken told CM he was a bit worried he'd scored badly.
"The accident victim told me she wanted to be manhandled, but I wasn't sure it was appropriate. Apparently all she wanted was for me to put pressure on a bleeding head wound!"
The final part of the test —distance judging — asked about stopping distances and then asked competitors to drive forwards and stop at the correct stopping distance for a set speed. Most managed this without a hitch, but there were tough penalties for those that underestimated the distance required to stop. After all six rounds, scores were totalled up.Asda driver Darren Jukes. who had taken top spot in the manoeuvring round, claimed first place — and the seat on the plane to Sweden.Tony Warner, who had struggled with the right-hand drive truck, took second place, while Adrian Woodward was third.
Despite nerves on the day, all 12 finalists said they'd be back to have another crack at the title in 2005, for the next Scania event. And that must surely be a good result for all concerned. •