Yorkshire hauliers open training centre

20th June 1969, Page 188

20th June 1969

Page 188

Page 188, 20th June 1969 — Yorkshire hauliers open training centre

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• The first Yorkshire RTITB centre, which was officially opened in Bradford on Thursday of last week, is being run by the Bradford Hauliers Group Training Association, of which seven companies in the area are founder members.

At the opening, the Board's chairman, Mr. K. C. Turner, presented the keys of the new training vehicle, a white AEC Mandator artic, to Mr. Jack Bell, .acting group chairman. Mr. Turner thanked Henry Long (Manningham) Ltd. for providing the training ground at Legrams Mill Lane and told the group that it was absolutely right to sponsor this venture.

Training facilities are available for four men at a time. These will take a first course of five days to convert them from rigid to articulated vehicle drivers. The second five-day session is an advanced articulated h.g.v. driver course. There are two instructors, as it is considered necessary for them to be in a 1:2 ratio to the trainees, and one training officer. The instructors give both driving and classroom tuition.

Mr. F. R. Maudsley, who is the training officer for the Bradford group, has been concerned with training for about 15 years and was at one time a driving examiner for the MoT„ in which position he undertook tests on all types and sizes of vehicles.

The two instructors. Mr. C. Brown and Mr. N. A. Oates. have both taken part in a training course at Motec 1.

The four trainees at Bradford are Joe Wood, Eric Raistrick. Albert Longbottom and Rowland Warburton, who have all been driving rigid vehicles for over 10 years. They all said that the difficult part of driving an artic was "bending" it and that, although they found some of the tuition a bit strange, they were sure that it was all worthwhile.

In addition to practical driving instruction, the courses consist of securing loads, driver maintenance and fault finding, road transport law. the Highway Code, map reading and any other questions which the trainee might raise. An important period is devoted to filling in driver's records and explaining the value of a man regarding himself as an ambassador for his company.

At a dinner following the opening, Mr. Turner outlined a plan for a mobile unit to tour smaller companies and give on-the-spot tuition. Mr. Turner thought management training could be carried out in the same fashion, as managers of small companies could not afford to be away from their work for a full course.

After the successful implementation of this scheme in Bradford, it is hoped that a Transport Manager's course will also be startod there.

The cost of a 10-day course for one man is £50-£55, but in the case of hauliers a grant may be obtained from the RTITB.