WEST COUNTRY MAN AGAIN!
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THERE must be something in that West -ICountry air! For the second year running Torquay eliminating centre has provided the Lorry Driver of the Year— and for a 36-month-old round that's pretty good going. He is Mr. R. J. (Reg.) Tooze, aged 42, of the Regent Oil Co. Ltd., Exeter.
Mr. Tooze won class F(2) in his Bedford artic tanker at Sunday's Bramcote final sponsored by COMMERCIAL MOTOR then smoothed through the main event with only 40 penalty points.
Yet when I asked him afterwards what advice he would give to other drivers, this quietly spoken champion in smart green uniform and bow-tie, said: "I wouldn't dare!"
Maybe he wouldn't, but his driving display on Sunday was meticulously accurate. He has qualified in each of his three years of eliminating rounds—and has been driving professionally for over 20. His job now takes him all over Devon—mostly with heavy artics and eight-wheelers. He lives in Exeter.
C-licence scoop It was a good day for the C-licence men: seven out of 10 class champions—and the top three in the final list—drive for own-account operators. And this year the winner and runner-up were oil company tanker men.
On the haulage front there was topical irony: a British Railways driver won the Road Haulage Association cup!
The 245 Bramcote drivers were winners of classes in which nearly 3,000 men—and • women—took part in countrywide eliminating rounds.
The spectators were from many parts of the British Isles, too, and turned up in record numbers to be greeted by a fine, dry day.
A party from the West Country who had come to support Mr. Tooze and their other finalists included Mr. A. J. Stanaway, last year's champion, and his wife.
Young perfectionist One of the youngest competitors was 20-year-old Mr. C. Kendrick of Liverpool, who won Class C with the day's best score —a mere 23 penalty points—and the chairman's award of merit as the most consistent driver in the final over the past three years. Mr. Kendrick is learning his father's business "from the ground up", and has driven for only 34years.
Torquay made the headlines. But Liverpool quietly scooped two other class championships: Mr. V. T. Whiteside, of Johnson Brothers (Dyers) Ltd., took Class E(1) on his second visit to Bramcote; and Mr. M. Halforil, of Arthur Hughes and Sons (Haulage) Ltd., was Class G champion with only 30 penalties.
The Leeds eliminator produced two class winners: Mr. C. O'Reilly—third time lucky—took the Power Petroleum Trophy in his Petrofina tanker and went on to become runner-up in the final; and Mr. J. D. Borrill, of Westgate Motors (Wakefield) Ltd., third in the final run-off after having won Class A.
First national class champion from north of the border was Mr. W. Lumsden of British Railways, Edinburgh-Class F(1) victor; another BR driver, Mr. D. Downie from Glasgow, was runner-up in Class H. He earned a silver medallion and this comment from a spectator at the prizegiving: "Are they now trying to lift our silverware as well as our traffic?".
Because of the expense of bringing vehicles from Ireland many Ulster drivers were unable to compete last year. But this year arrangements were made for drivers to borrow vehicles. And Mr. T. Stewart of Scott (Toomebridge) Ltd., Co. Antrim, drove a Foden supplied by Murphy Bros., of Leicester, to victory in Class E(2).
He took the Institute of Traffic Administration Trophy back across the Irish Sea as the first class-winner from Ireland.
With Mr. J. Campbell of Kraft Foods Ltd., Belfast, who came third in Class C, Mr. Stewart helped his Castlereagh col leagues to win Amoco (UK) Ltd. tankards for the best team.
The Joseph Lucas award for the Best Novice went to Mr. L. Freeman, of Morris Motors Ltd., Oxford, the Class B champion. It was his first final and the first time he had entered the competition. Also competing for the first time at Bramcote was Mr. J. Hayman, of William Tirnpson Ltd., Manchester, who headed Class H.
Different vehicles
To ensure that the champion could justifiably be called Lorry Driver of the Year, the committee this year decided that the class winners should—without the usual familiarization drive four different vehicles in the run-off.
These, provided by Ford Motor Co. Ltd., were categories A, D, E(2) and H: a Transit van for the reversing; a D800 flat for the width judgment; a 0T800 six-wheeler for the ball-dislodging "snooker" test; and a D1000/York Freightmaster 28-ton attic for the kerb parking.
The idea was good. But the managers' contest (using final vehicles to sustain spectator interest in the pause before the run-off) proved rather slow to complete. This, and the need to shunt each vehicle back to the start of its respective section for each competitor, meant that as many as three drivers had to wait at mid-course for the next vehicle. So the run-off lacked the tension and spectacle of the "own-vehicle" eliminating tests run against the clock.
Otherwise, the organization was smooth. I heard nothing but praise for the arrangements—and there were no official protests this year. Some people felt that the tests were a little too familiar and that more luck than skill was required at one or two points. Mr. Tooze himself said: "It just happened to be my day". But put that down to modesty.
The standard of driving was high and few barriers toppled, except perhaps in the 10-contestant managers' competition. I asked clerk of the course Mr. Gerry Aston how the managers were faring in comparison with their drivers. His retort: "They're wrecking my equipment!"
Not a charge, I'm sure, which could be levelled at the placed men and especially the winner, Mr. K. Harrison, of Watson's Carriers.
Better arrangements for spectators this year included a welcome and appropriate visit from the Fodens Motor Works Brass Band. Another innovation: a separate roping and sheeting contest organized by British Ropes Ltd. and judged on time, neatness and the tying of knots.
Tricky roping
British Ropes Group traffic manager Mr. F. M. Fieldhouse told me that some of the contestants were too slow to be employed by him—but some were excellent. The loads were tricky to rope, especially the drums and steel coils on the attic: some competitors failed to wrap the sheets into the right envelope and simply tried to get rid of the hollows by hefty tugs on the ropes.
Mr. Lorry Driver 1967, Reg Tooze, gets not only trophies, gifts, replicas and cash awards—but also a week-end at a Top Rank Motor Inn and a special prize from Ford: a flight this week to Germany for a five-day stay which will include visits to the Frankfurt Show.
I understand that Mr. Tooze will also be getting an official invitation to the opening of the Road Transport Industry Training Board headquarters next week.
This certainly is in line with the comments of Training Board chairman Mr. K. C. Turner when he presented the prizes on Sunday. There was a close connection between the competition and his Board, he said. Board policy was related to accident prevention and increased efficiency, and a competition such as this provided a shop window for driving and demonstrated the skills and the demands made on drivers.