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Cornishman takes the cream again
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by Gordon Murray and Anthony O'Toole . orry Driver of the Year for 1974: H. L. Richards, Heavy Transport (E.C.C.) St kustell, Leyland, 297 penalty points. Runner-up: N. D. Singer, Shell-Mex and BP . td, Aberdeen, Scammell, 348. Third place: R. Hutchinson, Shell-Mex and BP, lull, Bedford, 418.
F. LLOYD RICHARDS is an old hand t the LDoY competition, always onsistent and up with the leaders. Last unday he collected the glory and the up for the second time in his life at ramcote.
The Commercial Motor Lorry Driver f the Year competition celebrated a indy 21st birthday at Bramcote on unday September 8 1974. The gales of le previous day had abated somewhat, ut not before the wind had wrecked )me of the hospitality tents and inflicx:1 damage which some estimates put as igh as £10,000 worth.
On Saturday morning the havoc was ) great that at one stage it was iggested that the event should be can!lied. But in the best traditions of the 3mpetition it was decided to carry on gardless. However, though the lustery day kept down the numbers of tsual visitors, over 300 finals constants, gathered from regional centres 3 over the UK, celebrated in style by trrying off a record number of .ophies.
The top cash prize set new records — ord Motor Company had increased its ward to £100 and the Vauxhall Motor wards for second and third place men 'ere doubled. Commercial Motor also resented cheques to the entrants of the ip three drivers this year for the first me.
The day started with a road section itroduced at the 1973 final. ompetitors started from Bitteswell irfield on A5, where scrutineering iok place. Drivers were required to aintain a set average speed and there ere a number of observed points. nlike last year's event when this secon was cancelled owing to fog, the )ad route ran well to time with the first )mpetitor arriving at Bramcote at the id of the 15-mile route by approxilately 9.30 am.
Before competitors set off on the road ction each was given a written Lamination paper on the Highway ode. Although there was a set time-nit of 15 minutes, a number of drivers d exceptionally well on this always fficult section, and 13 entrants got rough without incurring any penalty )ints at all. One of these drivers, J. Short, who was at the wheel of a Dodge, for Midlands BRS, was later awarded the RAF School of Mechanical Transport Trophy for the best Highway Code paper.
On arrival at Bramcote, drivers took part in the first of a series of four tests which required them to manoeuvre accurately through obstacles laid out to simulate daily driving hazards. Meanwhile, away from the tension of the manoeuvring tests course the first, second and third places in the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company truck Wheel-changing competition, went respectively to Mr H. J. Turrell ShellMex and BP, Doncaster, with a time of 2:70 minutes; Mr G. Greatbanks, BRS Enfield in 2.71 mm; and Mr A. Greaves, P.A.N. Freight Commercials, Coventry, in 2.76min.
Smiths Industries again held their tachograph-reading competition. And kspite the awe in which this instrument is held in some quarters, the standard of competitors attempting to unravel the mysteriej of the tachograp chart was very very high. First pri went to Mr J. Daly, Shell-Me x and BP, Haydock; second went to Mr K. Kemble, BRS, Cardiff; and third prize to Mr J. Briggs, Scottish and Newcastle Brewery, Edinburgh. The first and second places had been decided on the final twb questions, and a special prize was awarded to Mr M. Barker, Esso, Nottingham.
Also seen in the competitors' open section, was a sign of the times outside the "Road Sign Bingo Competition," organized by the manufacturer of the Hope Anti-Jack-Knife device. This was a notice advising would-be contestants that the first prize would be 211b of sugar or a 25 lb hamper!
Convincing demonstration
Despite an attempt at sabotage by a reluctant public address system immediately before the commencement of the final championship test at 2.30 pm, Ailsa Trucks Mounted a convincing demonstration of drawbar trailer and double-bottom driving to illustrate the advantages and economics of the system. An F88 Volvo tractive unit, hauling two Crane Fruehauf trailers, was demonstrated to an interested crowd. These units were then shown coupling and uncoupling, using F86 tractive units to demonstrate the urban capability of the syktern.
This year, the driving tests at Bramcote' were simplified in so far as the amount of "furniture" scattered about the track was concetnedt However, the standard required to complete the tests successfully was, if anything, higher than previousty. A. Lloyd Richards, overall winner in 1972 and the Class E winner on Sunday, confirmed this. When asked what he thought or the test standard, he said -simply:."Too hard." Indeed, the test involving the parking baby in particular, seemed to confuse a lot of people during the day and even an old hand like Liloyd lot 20 points on it, although, he admitted: "We are doing this sort of thing all the time." Even though later in the afternoon it was confirmed that Lloyd was in fact 1974's LDoY champion he still said the tests were difficult — though not difficult enough to prevent his carrying off the cream of the prizes.
W. R. (Bill) Moore, USA national driver of the year 1974, who will be in England for two or three weeks, was at Bramcote for the Finals and during the afternoon took part in a number of prize-giving ceremonies.
Bill, who has been driving for 37 years (27 for Pacific Inter-Mountain Express) has 31/2 million miles accident-free driving to his credit. Sixty four years' old and due to retire next August, he says: "The job has been good to me; it has meant steady employment and above average pay." When asked if he would do it again, Bill, who covers a regular run of 380 miles per day, five days per week said "Yes".
Married with two grown-up children, he hails from Alburquerque, New Mexico, and competed with 48 other truck drivers to win his title. Hobbies include interior decorating and flower arrangements.
Discussing the Volvo double-bottom demonstration, he said that this was definitely the way to move freight but on the subject of treble bottoms, which are already allowed in some American states, thinks that while they are great from the operator's point of view are not so good from the driver's aspect.
Mervin Miles, whose involvement with this competition goes back to 1951 when he was Coventry Road Safety Officer, performed a pleasant little ceremony immediatly before the prizegiving ceremony. He cut a large cake decorated with models of lorries to celebrate the event's 21st birthday.
This cake was later reputedly divided into I MOO pieces — an operation which must have been akin to the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. However, luckily for Mervin he only had to make a ceremonial cut.
The prize-giving ceremony was a little quieter than usual this year, the contestants and their families under standably saddened by the news of the death of Mr D. Bland, of Southern BRS, Bedfont, a regional competition Class F winner, who was killed together with his wife when their lorry was struck by a falling tree on their way to the Finals.
Lady Pettit, wife of Sir Daniel Pettit, presented the awards to the Class champions and Sir Daniel himself presented the three top awards.
For his efforts during the day, Lloyd Richards carried off the following major awards. The Coventry Trophy pre sented by the British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd. The Chrysler Silver Salver (to entrant) with gold wristlet watch (to competitor) presented by Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd. Cash award £100 from Ford Motor Co Ltd to competitor. Cash award £50 from Commercial Motor to entrant. The Michelin European Study Award. The George Macaulay Memorial Award, and a Set of transport text books presented by United Road Transport Union.
On October 31 in company with his depot manager he will visit Holland on a Michelin sponsored four-day tour.
Beginning at Europort, Rotterdam, Europe's largest container port. Other visits will include meetings with Michelin distributors and employer/ employee transport trade associations, a large Dutch fleet operator and a visit to the DAF factory where Lloyd will be driving the new DAF 2800 chassis.
By 8 pm it was all over and the wind was blowing the day's debris across the deserted track and around the wrecked tents as the last of the competitors and their families took their leave of Bra mcote for another year.