On Saturday, 29 November, 36 of the best truck and bus drivers from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania competed in various catergories for the crown of Driver of the Year.
More than 700 skilled bus and truck drivers signed up for regional Scania Driver Competitions throughout Southern Africa.
“The Scania Driver Competition is a safety initiative aimed at improving the driving skills of truck and bus drivers around the globe. This initiative started in 2003 and in South Africa we have been running the competitions for 10 years, says Steve Wager, MD of Scania South Africa.
“The objective with Scania Driver Competitions is to establish the best drivers in the region based on three factors; safe driving skills, economical driving and environmental impact.”
The drivers showed great skill as they tackled the many obstacles courses set up to test how well they can manoeuvre their rigs safely. They were also tested on their first aid skills and the outcome was resounding, these drivers set the standard in safety and capability.
And they weren’t just in it for the bragging rights either. This year’s first prize for the best bus and best truck drivers was a whopping N$ 50 000 each.
After all the tests were completed and new friends made, it came time to award the best all-round drivers. Lawrence Nkwinika of Great North Transport from South Africa’s North-East province took the big prize as the Best Bus Driver 2014 and to his delight pocketed N$ 50 000 for his efforts and bragging rights for the year.
“I’m so happy to win this prize. I means the world for me,” Nkwinika said.
The Land of the Brave also has major brag points notched up as our very own Nicolaas ‘Kallie’ Truter of WS Truter, Namibia stood out early from the skilled pack of 24 of the best truck drivers from all over the region who he competed against. He went on to take top honours and place first netting him N$ 50 000 and the title of Best Truck Driver 2014, out of a field of over 700 drivers.
Truter, who normally transports maize between Namibia and other African countries, beamed with pride when accepting his award. “I don’t know what to say, I’m more or less speechless. But of course I’m proud.”
To assist Scania in striving towards the objectives of Scania Driver Competitions, a number of partners and endorsements have joined forces, namely Shell, Goodyear, Hendred Fruehauf, Volkswagen Light Commercial Vehicles, Reality Wellness and SWHAP.
Through Scania’s partnership with SWHAP and Reality Wellness, health tests were performed for free to all visitors at the competition: the drivers, Scania Employees, customers and other guests. The health test included consultation, HIV/Aids test, blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, BMI and waist circumference. There were also possibility to try “drunk googles” in order to see how the perception is affected by alcohol.
The visitors and competitors could also amuse themselves by test driving a VW Amarok on an off-road course. A very well appreciated activity.
Wager said “Saturday really delivered that warm feeling of being part of one big happy family – the Scania family. The drivers really felt like the single most important person during this day – you could almost see them growing during the day. They walked on the competition track with straight backs and proud faces. They were very focused on the competition, but didn’t let that stop them having fun with their new friends.”
