Top UD fleet driver off to Japan

Top UD fleet driver off to Japan

UD Trucks Southern Africa announced the brand’s top fleet driver at its annual Extra Mile Challenge driver competition. 

Following a day of evaluations and challenges at the Gerotek Vehicle Testing Facility, Alfred Ngilo, a driver from Clover in KwaZulu-Natal, walked away with top honours. He outperformed 20 other participants to be named the most efficient and productive driver. In second place was Pinki Chuduku of Vital Distribution, while Khumalo Vusumusi of Shoprite was placed third.  

In the process, Ngilo qualified to represent South Africa in the global Extra Mile Challenge during November. The event, that will take place at the UD Trucks headquarters in Ageo, Japan, will see drivers from various markets compete in the recently launched Quester range to determine the champion.

Top UD fleet driver off to Japan “With our brand promise of Going the Extra Mile in mind, we put the challenge to our fleet customers to see which driver would become the best of the best,” says Gert Swanepoel, acting vice president of UD Trucks Southern Africa. “It is a privilege to recognise and celebrate these valuable skills in this manner.”

Drivers, all using the same UD Quester construction models, were put through their paces in various challenges that measured revenue generated, fuel efficiency, uptime and maintenance costs, as well as safe driving skills. Drivers first had to complete a pre-drive inspection on the vehicles to ensure the roadworthiness and safety of the trucks.  

Apart from the driving tests, the drivers also had to perform some challenging handling and parking tests, where accuracy and efficiency were key to success.  

The experts from UD Trucks continuously evaluated each team on the various tracks, and once the course was completed, technicians downloaded and scored the drivers’ fuel efficiency and driving styles according to information retrieved from the on-board telematics system on the trucks.  

“The results obtained at the Extra Mile Challenges have bolstered our belief in the level of driving skills available in South Africa. We wish Alfred every success with the global competition in November. We are with him every step of the way,” says Swanepoel.

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Focus on Transport

FOCUS on Transport and Logistics is the oldest and most respected transport and logistics publication in southern Africa.
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