PARIS, TX - The Paris District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held their annual District Championship Truck Roadeo on Wednesday, October 7, at the district headquarters in Paris. 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 and strive to do the best job possible at all times.
Ralph Vannoy, Sherman Maintenance, was the District Champion with a score of 305 points out of 350 maximum points. The runner-up was Tony Reed, Emory Maintenance Section, with a score of 295 points. These two drivers will represent the Paris District on October 29, 2009 in Austin as they compete in TxDOT*s State Championship Truck Roadeo.
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; 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; 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 which must be found within 12 minutes. The roadeo contains something to challenge any driver*s skills and abilities.
So, the next time members of the public see one of TxDOT's big, white dump trucks driving down the road, they can be sure that the driver has worked very hard to assure that he or she is driving safely, and, that they will continue to work hard in the future.