The winner of the fourth annual FTA Van Excellence Driver of the Year competition, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, has been announced. Steve Mumford of BT Supply Chain has become the overall champion by demonstrating outstanding professionalism, knowledge and excellent driving skills. Luke Froggatt of AMEY has been named Young Driver of the Year in this category.
The competition took place at Mercedes-Benz, Wentworth Park, Barnsley, where each van driver took part in six separate tasks during the event in order to evaluate their overall ability – driving style, economical driving, manoeuvring, defect checking, knowledge of legislation and risk awareness.
The winner was announced by FTA’s Head of Vans, Mark Cartwright, with the prizes being presented by Andy Eccles, Head of Business Development, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd.
Steve Bridge, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, said: “We are passionate about supporting our nation’s van drivers, and championing their hard work and commitment to keeping this country moving. The FTA Van Driver of the Year event is about celebrating the true skill of the driver so we’re proud to sponsor this event, crown the FTA Van Driver of the Year and celebrate them as a great example for our industry.”
The twelve 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 based on their scores.
Other winners from the Van Excellence 2017 contest were:
- 2nd place: Mark Forge of AAH Pharmaceuticals
- 3rd place: Paul Dickens of Carey Group
- Economical driving task, supported by Hertz: Daniel Hodgkins of Kelly Fleet Services
- Driving style test, supported by Microlise: Andrew Bucknell of BOTT Ltd
- Pre-use defect check task, supported by Lex Autolease: Darren Welding of Amey
- Risk assessment test, supported by ARI: Mark Bergant of Scottish Water
- Legislation test, supported by BOTT: Steve Mumford of BT Supply Chain
- Manoeuvring task, supported by Brigade Electronics: Paul Dickens of Carey Group
