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MAY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO MOTORING
www.proinstaller.co.uk
FTA SEARCHES
FOR COUNTRY’S
BEST VAN DRIVER
The Freight Transport
Association (FTA) is
looking for the best van
driver in the country
through its Van Excellence Driver of the Year
2016 contest, sponsored by LeasePlan UK.
The popular event, which
takes place on 14 July, is
open to FTA members and
Van Excellence accredited
operators and tests driving
skills (fuel economy and
driver behaviour), manoeuvring ability, the drivers’
risk awareness, legislative
knowledge and the ability
of the contestants to identify
pre-use vehicle defects.
FTA Head of Vans Mark
Cartwright said: “The FTA
Van Driver of the Year event
really is testimony to the
skills and expertise of the
competing drivers. They’re
all employed by Van Excellence accredited operators
who are working at the very
highest standards, and those
who take part really are the
best of the best - from the
best operators.”
Mark Lovett, Head of Commercial Vehicles at contest
sponsor LeasePlan UK,
added: “The 2016 FTA’s Van
Excellence Driver of the Year
winner will be assessed on a
number of key competencies
both on and off the road and
will prove that he or she is
upholding the values of safe
and efficient van driving and
ultimately contributing to
greater road safety. It is for
this reason that LeasePlan
UK is proud to sponsor such
a worthy event.”
Following the success of
the previous two Van Excellence Driver of the Year
events, FTA has introduced
three separate contests for
2016 celebrating the skills
and abilities of professional
drivers across the freight
and logistics sector.
The three contests are
FTA Truck Driver of the
Year (44-tonne) sponsored
by Mercedes-Benz Trucks);
FTA Truck Driver of the
Year (18-tonne) sponsored
by Bridgestone Tyres) and
the Van Excellence Driver
of the Year. All three will
be held at Mercedes-Benz,
Wentworth Park, Barnsley,
between 12 and 14 July
2016.
Mark Lovett said: “With
over 3.2 million vans in
the UK - representing 1 in
10 vehicles on our roads sponsoring the competition
highlights our commitment
to raising van driver standards in a bid to make our
roads safer.”
Contestants taking part in
each of the events will be
asked to complete various
tasks in the competition
which is designed to test
their abilities across a wide
range of skills.
For more information
or to nominate a driver
to enter the 2016 FTA
Driver of the Year
competition please go
to: http://www.fta.co.uk/
events/driver-of-theyear-2016.html
Upgrade Your Road
Safety Skills
A road safety organisation which educates
330,000 road users nationwide each year is
calling for drivers to upgrade their road safety
skills - after government statistics showed
a slight increase in annual road deaths.
Isuzu D-Max Crowned At
Trade Van Driver Awards
Isuzu UK continues to build
on its reputation as a manufacturer of exceptional
pick-up trucks as its versatile D-Max was crowned
‘Best Workhorse Pickup’ in
the 2016 Trade Van Driver
Awards at the Commercial
Vehicle Show.
This is the third consecutive
year that the Trade Van Driver
Awards’ judging panel of expert
experienced journalists has recognised the Isuzu D-Max as the
best in the business. The judges
commented: “A hardworking,
gutsy performer, the Isuzu D-Max
offers robustness, as well as class,
plus incredibly low cost of ownership figures.”
This latest accolade comes after
a sustained period of year-on-year
UK sales records for the Japanese
automotive manufacturer. Entering its 100th year on the back of
a sixth consecutive year of sales
growth, last year represented a
13% annual sales improvement
for Isuzu UK.
William Brown, Operations
Director at Isuzu UK, said: “To be
recognised in the Trade Van Driv-
er Awards once again is a great
honour and is testament to the
quality of the product, our sales
strategy and our exceptional UK
dealer network.
“We also pride ourselves on our
pioneering spirit, and it’s fitting
that we win this award close to
the time that we’ve launched our
most luxurious pick-up ever – the
D-Max Centurion – and our most
extreme pick-up ever – the D-Max
Arctic Trucks AT35.”
www.isuzumedia.co.uk
Casualty figures released by
the Department for Transport
revealed that 1,780 people
died in Great Britain in the
12 months up to September
2015 - a three per cent increase on the previous year.
Cycle casualties and deaths were
down five per cent to 3,340 while
5,300 pedestrians were killed or
injured, down four per cent.
A total of 8,220 people were
killed or injured in drink drive
collisions with around 240 dying
where drivers were over the drink
drive limit and 1,080 seriously
injured. The total number of drink
drive collisions fell by one per
cent to 5,620.
“There are still too many people
dying and being seriously injured
every day on our roads,” said
Jenny Wynn, Chairman of the TTC
Group, a road safety organisation
which has been working for more
than 20 years to educate road
users to cut casualties.
She urged drivers to consider
taking a refresher driving course
to check their road skills and for
employers to manage the risk their
employees face on the road.
“Businesses can also take professional steps to manage the risk
their employees face on the road
with TTC’s DriverProtect programme.”
www.ttc-uk.com