Competition for this year’s Freight Transport Association (FTA)’s Driver of the Year will be tough as organisers have revealed a record number of entries.
Open to all UK drivers from any business sector, the competition has received double the number of applications compared to 2016.
The 2017 FTA Driver of the Year competition will be judged in three vehicle categories: vans, 18-tonne trucks and 44-tonne trucks, with a Young Driver of the Year named in each.
Carlie Nowell, Head of Events at FTA, said, “Freight drivers are the lifeblood of British business and have to be highly skilled in a broad range of areas including time management, load distribution, vehicle maintenance and legal compliance in addition to having top notch driving skills.”
Those shortlisted for the finals of the competition will be invited to take part in an assessment day at Mercedes-Benz, where Drivers and Young Drivers of the Year in each vehicle class will be named.
The winners will then have a three-day assessment of their skills and judges will then select the overall FTA Driver of the Year 2017, who will be presented with his or her prize at the Transport Manager Conference at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, on 29 November.
Nowell added, “With more than four million vans, and over 500,000 HGVs on Britain’s roads, this competition is a great opportunity for us to recognise the skills of the unsung heroes of British business. We have been delighted by the quantity and quality of the drivers who have entered.”
