CLYDE — The heavy equipment took the spotlight.
But the lightweight equipment — high-visibility rain-slickers —
played a role too at the Division 14 Roadeo skills and safety competition in May
at the Haywood County Maintenance Yard.
“We work in the rain, so we may as well practice in the rain,”
Division 14 Safety Engineer Candie Auvil said. “This is good for our crews.”
More than 120 NCDOT employees from across the 10 westernmost
counties that comprise Division 14 gathered to test the skills that they use in
day-to-day operations in a controlled environment.
They steered trucks through an obstacle course, set the blade of a
motorgrader a the right height to knock a tennis ball off a tee, scooped a golf
ball with a backhoe, weaved backwards on a tractor mower, or weaved a 55-gallon
drum through a course with a crane.
“This is also another chance to enhance our safety operations and
emphasize the simple things like wearing a seatbelt and getting in and out of a
cab the right way,” Auvil said. “Not to mention they get to hone the skills they
use everyday on our mountain roads and often do so in tight quarters.”
The following winners from each division will compete for the state
championship on July 31 in Raleigh.
Tandem Axle Dump Truck: Josh Culbreth
Tractor Mower:
Brad Williams
Backhoe: Jeff Gregory
Lowbory: Andrew
Bradley
Single Axle Dump Truck: Jeff Wallace
Motorgrader: Early Buchanan
Contact: David Uchiyama
duchiyama@ncdot.gov
(828)
251-6171