FTA Driver of the Year 18 Tonne 3rd Place

Jamie Jarman wins FTA driver of the year award 2017

Simply Waste Solutions driver, Jamie Jarman has placed third in the Freight Transport Association (FTA) Driver of the Year 2017 competition, 18-Tonne division.

The competition took place on Wednesday (13th September) at Mercedes-Benz, Wentworth Park, Barnsley, with each driver taking part in six separate tasks in order to evaluate their overall ability – driving style, economical driving, manoeuvring, defect checking, knowledge of legislation and risk awareness.

These tasks involved things such as driving through a very tightly coned exercise area (slightly tougher than the UK HGV driving test), fun team exercises including loading as many boxes into a Sprinter van as quickly as possible, driving a remote-controlled truck through a coned course and a fuel-efficient driving skills assessment which was monitored through a telematics system.

I did feel fairly nervous on the big day of the competition, but also very honoured to have been lucky enough to represent Simply. Walking in and seeing the other 19 drivers that I was up against made me feel at ease, as I knew we were all in the same boat.Jamie Jarman

Jamie, who had been put forward for the competition after being named Simply Waste’s Best Driver at an internal awards ceremony, and the other finalists were individually scored on each task, ranked on their performance and the overall winner was announced based on the scores.

I had a great day and fully enjoyed all aspects including being a passenger in a self-stopping 44 Tonne truck.Jamie Jarman

Craig Stewart of Clarke International came 1st, 2nd place went to Rob Morris of Bibby Distribution and Jamie took 3rd place,

I feel very proud to be the FTA 3rd best driver and I’m still trying to come to terms with this privilege. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my fellow work colleagues, management and Kevin’s training. Big thank you to everyone at Simply for all your support.Jamie Jarman

At Simply Waste Solutions, we think it’s important to show commitment to our employees and for them to feel valued. An integral member of the team is Academy Training Manager, Kevin Barcroft. He notices who is excelling in their role and in Jamie’s case, puts employees forward for competitions such as Driver of the Year to reward their hard work.

We are very proud of Jamie for coming 3rd in this prestigious competition. Well Done!

FTA awards 2017
FTA awards 2017 group of people having photo taken
FTA awards 2017 group of people having photo taken after winning awards