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Army Driver of the Year 2007
Professional driving is in the Thorn family blood.
Army driver Private Jon Thorn’s father, Allan, drove road trains in Australia, and his brother Aaron was also until recently an Army driver.
The 22 year old loves his job, and that passion shone through when earlier this year he won the Army Driver of the Year competition.
“The competition was pretty tough but I trained for it and put a lot of time into preparation. It was worth it in the end.”
Each competitor was assessed on driver theory, cross country driving, safe and skilled driving, loading and lashing, servicing and competent driving.
The theory test involved questions on the road code, general RNZALR and trade knowledge and various operational topics, while the safe and skilled assessment involved negotiating obstacles and ‘garages’ in a Pinzgauer and .75 Ton trailer and then in a Unimog.
The three driving stands conducted over one hour each assessed specific skills. The cross country was graded on pre and post checks, recognition and reaction to hazards, recovery, and techniques used in negotiating hazards. The other stands assessed hazard identification, search, control and observation of traffic regulations, basic driver techniques such as mirror use, head checks, speed control, road position and gap selection.
Jon says professional driving appeals to him because “I like being on the road. You get to see the countryside and travel around the place. Every day is different.”
He deployed to Afghanistan in 2004. “That was the best driving experience I’ve ever had – great 4-wheel drive stuff.”
Trade Training School Transport Wing senior Instructor, Captain Sheridan Cooper said the Driver of the Year competition aimed to encourage junior ranks within the driver trade to attain the highest standards of skill and proficiency. “The skill level of competitors is a reflection of the standard of personnel serving in the Army’s operational units.
This page was last reviewed on 21 November 2007 and is current.
