|
Paris District holds annual Truck Roadeo
The Paris News
Published October 30, 2009
Drivers for The Paris District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) practiced driving skills at a recent District Championship Truck Roadeo at district headquarters in Paris with Ralph Vannon, of the Sherman maintenance department taking top honors followed by Tony Reed of the Emory maintenance section taking second.
Vannoy scored 305 points out of 350 maximum points followed by Reed with 295 points. Both drivers represent the Paris District in TxDOT’s State Championship Truck Roadeo competition.
The Paris District held section level competitions in Sherman, Greenville, Paris and Sulphur Springs before hosting the District Championship. While the idea of a roadeo sounds like a lot of fun, the purpose behind the truck roadeo program is very serious.
TxDOT’s CDL (Commercial Drivers License) employees use the roadeo to practice the skills, which they use daily while trying to make the best possible score on the events in the roadeo. These are professionals who use their driving skills daily.
At the sectional level competition, the winners were: Dale Slagle, equipment shop; David Blanton, Clarksville maintenance; Kevin Humphries, Cooper maintenance; Bobby Phifer, Paris maintenance; Joe Nichols, Bonham maintenance; Ralph Vannoy, Sherman maintenance; Toby Godfrey., Mt. Vernon maintenance; Phillip Huff, Sulphur Springs maintenance; Joseph Thompson, Greenville maintenance; and Ray Crabtree, Emory maintenance. The runner-ups were: Ray Wilson, equipment shop; Ronnie Joe Yarbrough, Clarksville maintenance; Larry George, Cooper maintenance; George Cooper, Paris maintenance; Kelly Titsworth, Bonham maintenance; Tommy Langford, Sherman maintenance; Michael Petty, Mt. Vernon maintenance; Eric Richards, Sulphur Springs maintenance; Kerry Rumbaugh, Greenville maintenance; and Tony Reed, Emory maintenance.
Section level drivers scoring 300 points or more who are in the *300 Club* were: Jimmy Hewitt and Jason Hewitt, Bonham maintenance; Willie Dowell, David Escobedo and Chris Harrison, Greenville maintenance; Mark Long, Jerry Hale and Rusty Holland, Paris maintenance; George Erwin, Sherman maintenance; and R. A. Horne, Brent Stinson and Victor Carrell, Sulphur Springs maintenance.
A truck roadeo is a series of skilled driving events in which the driver must maneuver a 6-yard dump truck through the individual events without striking obstacles or driving outside the boundaries of the events. A perfect score for the roadeo is 350 points (five events worth 50 points per event and one event worth 100 points). With names like Offset Backing, Traffic Stop, Diminishing Clearance, Spotter Event and Serpentine, these events can be a challenge to the best drivers.
In addition to those events, the driver must perform a timed pre-trip Vehicle Inspection Exercise. This exercise has a truck with 10 planted defects that must be found within 12 minutes. The roadeo contains something to challenge any driver’s skills and abilities.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print |
Letter
|
|
 |
|
|
