Plow Operator "Roadeo" Great Multi-Municipality Success!

The Local Association of the Association of Ontario Roads Supervisors (AORS) hosted a Safety Truck ‘Roadeo’ Friday, September 8, 2023.

The AORS Provincial Truck Roadeo is a competition designed to showcase the expertise, test and enhance skills, and improve knowledge and safe driving practices of Ontario Municipal equipment operators and drivers.

Municipal employees who are professional drivers and regularly operate three-ton trucks or over with snow plow equipment (for example, dump body/spreader, harness, power operated plow & wing) were invited to participate.

Drivers negotiated the obstacle course designed to test their skills including an around-the-barrels serpentine (moving forward and reversing), threading-the-wing-through-the-keyhole, negotiating a typical corner (with crossing lines), and diminishing clearance – driving between two poles set up eight inches wider than the plow, moving forward the poles move inwards to six inches, four inches then two inches wider, the challenge being to not touch any of the poles with either the vehicle or the wing.

Judges from the participating municipalities scored each drivers’ performance. The winning driver, Chad Sheehey from the Township of Seguin, completed the course with fewest faults, and moves on to the provincial competition held this year in Clinton, Ontario on September 20. He also won the Local Association Driver of the Year award.

Drivers Duncan McEwen and Robert Verstraten, both from Parry Sound, came in second and third, respectively. Duncan will also participate in the provincial competition.

The Local Association, made up of West Parry Sound District municipalities, is hoping to make this an annual event.

More information can be found here.