Photos are available on Flickr at http://flickr.com/gp/vadot/VT736E/  (photos that match the captions begin with “Wytheville”)

Photo Caption #1: Winners of the single axle truck competition were (l-r) Anthony Hash, first place;  Travis Cox, second place; Kevin Copenhaver, third place; and Daniel Armstrong, fourth place.

Photo Caption #2:  In the backhoe competition, the winners were (l-r) Dennis Umberger, first place; Jay Meadows, second place; Ted Boyer, third place; and Kevin Copenhaver, fourth place.

Photo Caption #3: The tandem truck competition winners were (l-r) Tony Copenhaver, first place; Kevin Copenhaver, second place; Tony Sullivan, third place; and Scotty Call, fourth place (not pictured).

Photo Caption #4:  Winners in the mower tractor competition were (l-r) Jason Surber, first place; Kevin Davis, second place; Anthony Hash, third place; and Kevin Copenhaver, fourth place.

Photo Caption #5: Winners in the motor grader competition were (l-r) Dee Arnold, first place; Scotty Call, second place (not pictured), Kevin Copenhaver, third place; and Allen Pennington, fourth place.

BRISTOL, Va.– Employees from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Wytheville Residency recently tested their driving skills at the annual VDOT Wytheville Residency Truck Roadeo. 

VDOT’s Truck Roadeo competition is held each summer to test drivers’ skills.  About fifty equipment operators from the Wytheville Residency, which covers Wythe, Grayson, Bland and Smyth counties, participated in five different events. 

In this year’s single axle truck competition, the winners are:

The single axle truck competition gives employees an opportunity to test their job skills in situations similar to those encountered on the road.   Operators drive a three-ton dump truck, equipped with an 11-foot snow plow, through a series of obstacle courses simulating such maneuvers as plowing snow away from fixed objects, parallel parking, braking to a stop, mirror backing and backing to a loading dock.                                                                 

Winners in the backhoe competition are:

In the backhoe competition operators use a standard tractor equipped with an excavator, referred to as the "bucket," equipped with an object that is used to place golf balls into buckets ranging from standard size to small.  The competition demonstrates operators’ abilities to control the excavator.

This year’s winners in the tandem truck event are:

The tandem truck event uses a driving course similar to the single axle truck competition.  A tandem truck is a larger vehicle, weighing between 5 and 7 tons. 

In the mower tractor category, where drivers maneuver through a twisting and turning course to test driving and backing skills, the winners are:

Lastly, winners in the motor grader event are:

The motor grader event tests operators’ control of the grader blade.  Drivers knock tennis balls off pedestals with the grader blade without knocking down the pedestal itself.  

Each winner will compete in the VDOT Bristol District Truck Roadeo this month. 

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