MEET THE TRAINERS

DAF now has dealer driver trainers based across the country to help hand over new and used vehicles. In this edition we talk to Paul Kemp, the DAF Dealer Driver Trainer and used tuck sales manager, for Adams Morey in Southampton

PAUL KEMP

Q: When did you first join Adams Morey and what was your first job there?

A: I joined the company in 1989 as a van and truck delivery and collection driver.

Q: What did you want to be when you were at school?

A: It was always my dream to be a truck driver like my dad. I went to work with him every school holiday. He worked on containers and then drove for Air Products for more than 25 years, before moving onto drive petrol tankers.

Q: When did you take your HGV licence?

A: When I was 21. My dad taught me how to drive before that and showed me how to use an Eaton twin splitter gearbox and crash box. I remember he taught me how to reverse using a fully loaded nitrogen trailer.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?

A: Teaching people new things about their truck, even though they might have been driving it for quite a while.

Q: Do you have a top tip for a driver getting his new DAF?

A: Sit back and relax; let the truck do the work.

Q: What car do you currently drive and, if money was no object, what car would you have?

A: I have a company Ford Mondeo, I would like to have a Bentley Continental GT.

Q: What other responsibilities do you have at Adams Morey?

A: I sell used trucks.

Q: If you weren’t doing this, what would your ideal job be?

A: I can’t really think of anything else – this really is my dream job.

Paul goes to Eastleigh parkrun every Saturday without fail and runs 5k in the mud most weeks. He is now involved in setting up for each event and the rest of the group are currently encouraging him to take on the role of run director. He’s got five children, four of which are girls who keep him very busy the rest of the time.

Below: Mandy on location in

South Africa

HAVE LICENCE, WILL TRAVEL

DAF driver training manager, Mandy Wannerton, goes globetrotting and recalls her time working abroad – specifically her experiences in South Africa

When I first got my HGV licence, I had no idea just how far it would take me – not just as a driver but also as a driver trainer for DAF. Ghana, Mozambique, Taiwan, South Africa, Texas and Nigeria are just some of the places I have had the pleasure of driving and training in.

One of my favourite places is South Africa. What an amazing mix of cultures that place is, and one where the old ways coexist with the new, which is probably how I came to be cursed by a Zulu witch doctor. Long story short, he took umbrage to having training, especially training delivered by a white woman. In the UK, the driver would simply refuse to come out with you. Over there, the only thing to come out were chicken bones and a drum. Anyway, I digress. Back to training.

Training in South Africa is a little bit different to here. In the UK we go to the customer or they come to us. There, we’d go truck jumping. Because drivers spend several months away from base –and travel thousands of miles during that time – it was common practice to be given coordinate numbers at the dealership, along with a buggy (pick up) and a cheery farewell.

Equipped with these essentials, you would then make your way to a given area and wait for the trucks to come through. You’d flag the driver down and, if they knew to expect you, they would stop and you would jump in. If not, they simply ploughed on; couldn’t blame them if they didn’t stop because

vehicle-jackings then were rife.

As in Europe, drivers migrate to where the work is and, depending on a driver’s origin, the standard of driving would fluctuate greatly. In some African countries, all that was needed to gain a driving licence was to pass a written test and a practical test that used a map board and miniature vehicles. Yeah, seriously.....

Once onboard the truck, several hours would be spent with the driver, including demonstration driving to cut through any language barriers. Drivers’ wages weren’t great, so anything that could help save fuel and increase safety – and stop the driver being penalised for damaging the truck – was welcomed. All of the drivers, with the exception of ‘WitchyWoo’ I mentioned earlier, were welcoming and keen to learn as much as they could.

While we were training, the pickup would be driving around dropping off and picking up the other two trainers I was working with and, if it all went to plan, we would all end up in the same place at the end of the day. If not, c’est la vie, there’s always tomorrow.

Being a driver in South Africa is not easy. Working hours are long, many of the older vehicles shouldn’t be on the road, roads vary from dirt tracks to super highways – and from lowlands to mountain ranges – and the wages, for many, are low. Fuel theft is a regular occurrence, as is vehicle-jacking. Vehicle repairs need to be carried out by the driver at the roadside – it’s surprising how many uses a carrier bag has!

The biggest animals we need worry about when driving over here are deer; over there it’s elephants and rhinos. We moan about lane discipline; on many of their roads there are no lanes – or discipline, come to that. You certainly run the gauntlet as a driver over there and, as the charity Transaid says, every driver should be able to leave for a day’s work without the fear they may not come home because of a lack of training, or dangerous vehicles and roads. I, for one, am proud to say that I have played a very small part in helping the charity’s mission statement become a reality.

Mandy x

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