Alfreton man drives all the way to national award win
An Alfreton driver is celebrating this week, after scooping top prize in a prestigious national competition. Craig Stewart (44) from South Normanton, who works for Clarke International in Alfreton, was named the winner of the Freight Transport Association (FTA) Driver of the Year competition 18 tonne category, sponsored by Bridgestone.
Craig Stewart, winner of the FTA Driver of the Year 18 tonne competition sponsored by Bridgestone.
After a day of high pressure challenges, competing against 15 other finalists, Craig excelled in a range of tasks relating to his job, demonstrating outstanding professionalism, knowledge and excellent driving skills.
The competition took place at Mercedes-Benz, Wentworth Park, Barnsley, where each driver took part in six separate tasks to evaluate their overall driving ability – driving style, economical driving, manoeuvering, defect checking, knowledge of legislation and risk awareness.
“I was very surprised when they said my name,” said Craig. “The standard was so high across all the finalists it must have been hard to pick a winner. I’m over the moon.”
Bridgestone’s truck and bus product manager Terry Salter said:
“The driver of the year category for 18 tonne vehicles was especially competitive this year and we were delighted to put our name alongside it. Bridgestone is proud to recognise the hard-working professionals who make the commercial motoring industry so great.
“We are always looking at ways to promote the hard work of commercial vehicle technicians, whether that’s through our award-winning training programmes or suite of services that are tailored to meet their needs and make their lives easier.
“Our association with the Freight Transport Association’s Driver of the Year award represents the perfect fit for us and we are delighted to champion the hard work of these skilled professionals. We pride ourselves on serving society with superior quality and there are so many professional drivers who do likewise for their own companies, employers and customers.”
The finalists were each nominated by their fleet manager who had recognised their professionalism and skills. Each was individually scored on a variety of tasks, ranked on their performance, and the overall winner was announced.
Other winners from the 18 tonne 2017 contest were:
2nd place: Rob Morris of Bibby Distribution
3rd place: Jamie Jarman of Simply Waste Solutions
Winners of the individual tasks during the 18 tonne 2017 competition were:
Risk assessment supported by Licence Bureau – Sean Preston of Greggs
Legislation test – Mike Pyrah of PJ Carey Group
Pre-use defect checks supported by Bridgestone Partners – Rob Morris of Bibby Distribution
Manoeuvring – Geriant Edwards of Seconds and Co
Economical driving – Guntis Paberzie of Greggs
Driving Style supported by Microlise – Pamela Dennison of WS Dennison
The 18 tonne competition sponsored by Bridgestone ran alongside the Van Excellence Driver of the Year sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd and the 44 tonne driving competition sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Trucks.
The winners of all three contests will be assessed, and the overall winner of FTA Driver of the Year 2017 will be revealed at the Transport Manager Conference at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 29 November.
More News From Amber Valley Info
| News Have you seen missing girl Megan From Ripley Have you seen Megan? The 15-year-old has been reported missing from her home in Ripley. read more | |
| A night at the museum for the 5th Dronfield Hilltop Cubs Great British Car Journey, the award-winning classic car museum in Ambergate, Derbyshire, hosted the pack for a very special read more | |
| Alfreton chapel with planning for redevelopment as two homes goes under the hammer The former Methodist chapel in the village of Westhouses near Alfreton is to go up for auction thi read more | |
| Love Sadler Gate Promises Blooming Good Time at Spring Market Love Sadler Gate, the collective of independent businesses in the iconic Derby Cathedral Quarter street, will be holdin read more | |
| Lord Burlington opens iconic Heage Windmill On Saturday around 120 guests welcomed Lord Burlington to Heage Windmill for the Official Opening of the mill following extensive repairs read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Cold Callers claiming to be working on behalf of Derbyshire County Council Policehave seen and increase in reports of 'cold callers' where people are claiming to be working on behal read more | |
| Subscriptions For Amber Valley Borough Councils 2024 Garden Waste Service Are Now Open The garden waste collection service is available to all residents in Amber Valley except for r read more | |
| Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley boosting the speed, performance and coverage of mobile services in the area. read more | |
| Trent Barton Buses - Extension Of The £2 Single Fare Cap Trent Barton Buses have confirmed their participation in the extension of the £2 single fare cap until the end o read more | |
| Crich Tramway Village Looking For An Engineering Manager The successful candidate for this post will have excellent management skills gained whilst working in a practical workshop e read more | |
