Trucker heads for Nigeria to make roads safter

Jun 14 2009 by Colin Patterson, Sunday Sun

TRUCKER Malcolm Kidd is a man with a driving ambition.

He is heading out to Nigeria in north west Africa for three weeks as part of a scheme to help truck drivers across Africa develop better, safer driving skills.

Malcolm, 49, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is an HGV driving instructor and A1assessor for Van Hee, the Felling-based logistics training specialist.

His trip is part of Van Hee’s contribution to Transaid, the logistics industry’s international development charity that seeks to reduce poverty and improve life quality in Africa and across the developing world through transport-related projects.

“I thought this was the chance of a life-time” said Malcom. “I’m really looking forward to actually being able not only to help people to improve their skills through training but hopefully to get a better life as a direct result.

“That would be truly satisfying. I want to improve their current standard of driving and make it safer for them, and the people and goods they will transport.”

Malcolm is not new to Africa. He spent six months in Kenya in 1978 as part of his 14 years of Army service where he drove 65-ton lorries transporting plant and equipment and worked with a team of Kenyan people to build a tank park for the Kenyan army.

He has also spent 10 years living and working in Canada and overall has some 32 years of driving experience.

Hee managing director John Charlton said: “Death by road accidents is the second biggest cause of death in young males in Nigeria, as it is in other parts of Africa.

“There’s also a huge knock-on effect of lost vehicles and their loads, so we think this is an excellent cause for us to support.

“We have already supported Transaid’s Professional Driver Training Project in Zambia, but this is a big venture for us, to send Malcolm out to Nigeria for three weeks.

“It will be a far cry from the sophisticated things he teaches here, like driver hours digi tacho and analogue tacho, worktime directive requirements and fuel-efficient driving. But this basic training will have a huge effect on the lives of those in Nigeria”

John added: “We’re helping people in Nigeria to have better access to healthcare, education and earning opportunities.”