The winner of the fourth annual FTA Van Excellence Driver of the Year competition has been announced as BT Supply Chain’s Steve Mumford.

Mumford became the overall champion by reportedly demonstrating outstanding professionalism, knowledge and excellent driving skills. 

Luke Froggatt of Amey was named Young Driver of the Year in this category.

The competition took place at sponsor Mercedes-Benz’s Wentworth Park, Barnsley premises.

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.

Mercedes-Benz Vans UK’s managing director Steve Bridge 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 12 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

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

 

The winners of all three FTA contests – van, 18 tonne and 44 tonne – 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 November 29.

Pictured: FTA Van Excellence Driver of the Year 2017 Steve Mumford of BT Supply Chain receives his prize from FTA’s Mark Cartwright (left) and Andy Eccles,Mercedes Benz Vans UK.

 

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