A regional truck "ROADeo" competition was held in Pittsburgh in November to put some of PennDOT's best operators in western Pennsylvania to the test. When it was all said and done, District 1's team of Dave Root from Mercer County and Bob Skelton of Erie County walked away with the top score.
The duo was tasked with completing a variety of evaluations, including a safe maneuvering offset course, an air brake test, a serpentine driving course, an alley dock backing exercise, parallel parking, and straight backing exercise.
The event was held on Nov. 9 at the Western Pennsylvania Training Academy (WPTA) and each district's team scores were tallied to determine a winner.
Root and Skelton earned the right to compete at the regional level after receiving the highest marks at the District 1 ROADeo held earlier in the fall.
Donald Gray and Justin Schmidt from Crawford County, Frank Sovoia from Erie County, Charles Witherell and Cliff Custer from Forest County, Casey Krizon from Mercer County, Jim Egger and Travis Stover from Venango County, and Dennis Peterson and Dan Benson from Warren County also participated in the district competition.
District 1 has regularly held truck ROADeo competitions since the 1980s, except for the last several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's a great way to acknowledge the skills and abilities of our operators," said Doug Schofield, Assistant District Executive - Maintenance. "It also promotes our culture of safety and helps them perform efficiently during our winter operations."