ARA of South Carolina members got a boost of adrenaline on Feb. 10 at the BMW Experience & SC DOT event, hosted at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, S.C.
Attendees had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a BMW M440i xDrive Coupe and put its power, speed and handling to the test on the challenging Autocross course.
“To get to go spend the afternoon in a $125,000 BMW and just rip up and down the track was amazing. It's always fun to go do that,” says event attendee Bobby LaBoone, general manager, Bennett Equipment & Supply Co., Piedmont, S.C.
On the rental education side, officers Matthew Goff and Adam Heitzenrater of the South Carolina State Transport Police presented “Doing it Right – How to Move Materials and Machines the Right Way.” During
their presentation, the officers covered compliance with state and federal transportation laws, changes in the laws for 2022, reviewed the laws for non-CDL drivers/movers and provided a hands-on demonstration of correct equipment tie-down practices.
“That was very informative,” LaBoone says. “I thought they did a really good job telling our equipment haulers how to properly chain down and meet all of the DOT guidelines.”
Jack Halsey, Aiken, S.C.-based sales representative for Barreto Manufacturing and ARA of South Carolina associate member director, agrees.
“This was one of the best DOT trainings we have had,” he says. “One of the attendees had his laptop there and was asking questions, and that was really good because we could all just kind of sit and listen to real-world questions we had that were answered. It was great.”
“It's always a very good, lively and active Q&A when we have the DOT guys — it even made us about five minutes late for lunch,” says Warren Clayton, president, Asheville Hwy Rental, Spartanburg, S.C., and ARA of South Carolina president. “I also want to thank Michael Conner, the fleet safety/DOT compliance manager for Sunbelt Rentals, for coming. He was very informative and useful to the conversation.”
LaBoone says he is glad he attended this event and compliments the ARA of South Carolina for how well it was organized.
“There were several vendors there, and it's always good to see them to find out what's new in their product lines. And the ladies from the ARA Insurance group at ECM Solutions in Charlotte, N.C., were there; we do insurance with those folks, so it was good to put a face with them. I thought Warren and the ARA of South Carolina did a great job putting things together. It was well-organized, and the BMW folks know how to take care of you,” he says.