Honoring compassionate and skilled drivers.

More and more businesses and drivers consider ensuring traffic safety as a social responsibility. Many transport companies view the Golden Steering Wheel award as a guiding principle to promote and encourage all drivers to strive for it from the beginning of the year.

Over the past 12 years, the Golden Steering Wheel Award has become increasingly widespread in society. According to Mr. Le Kim Thanh, Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, through the award, many transport businesses and drivers have recognized that ensuring traffic safety is a responsibility to society, thereby contributing to reducing traffic accidents.

Mr. Le Kim Thanh.

A guide for businesses and drivers.

Now in its 12th year, how would you assess the significance and reach of the award to date?

After 12 years of launching and organizing the awards ceremony, the Golden Steering Wheel Award has attracted the attention and participation of numerous transportation businesses and professional drivers nationwide. This is evidenced by the growth in both scale and the number of participating units and drivers each year.

More and more businesses and drivers consider ensuring traffic safety as a social responsibility. Many transport companies view awards as a guiding principle to promote and encourage all drivers to strive for this goal from the beginning of the year.

Some businesses even organize the Golden Steering Wheel award at the unit level to encourage drivers to actively ensure traffic safety, cultivate good character and ethics, and perform noble deeds for passengers and the community.

For transportation companies, there are many opportunities to participate in various awards. But for drivers, to date, this remains the only national-level award specifically for them. Is that why the Golden Steering Wheel award is becoming increasingly attractive, sir?

Driving for commercial transport is a strenuous, demanding, and dangerous profession. During their work, they not only face the risk of traffic violations but also the constant threat of traffic accidents.

We cannot forget the contributions of thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of drivers who work day and night maintaining their vehicles, driving safely, and willingly sacrificing their own interests for their colleagues and other road users. They are the ones directly implementing the goal of "Human life is paramount," creating peaceful roads and journeys that bring togetherness and happiness to every family and to society as a whole.

They don't demand it, but I believe society needs to recognize and honor those who work in road transport, those who drive safely and conscientiously.

The Golden Steering Wheel is one such award. Through the effect of the award, the awareness and consciousness of drivers, transportation businesses in particular, and the entire population in general will certainly be raised, contributing to the goal of reducing traffic accidents.

Many new points regarding the regulations.

In its 12th year, the award rules have become stricter, increasing the minimum number of safe driving kilometers for drivers. Why this change?

Safe mileage is one of the important criteria. This year, to win the Golden Steering Wheel award, the minimum safe mileage for passenger transport drivers is 40,000km, for freight transport drivers is 50,000km, and for bus drivers operating on urban routes is 25,000km.

Mr. Do Duc Cuong - a driver from Cau Buou Bus Enterprise - is one of the 60 drivers who won the 12th Golden Steering Wheel award in 2024. Photo: Yen Chi.

Compared to 2023, the minimum safe driving mileage for passenger car and cargo truck drivers is 20,000km higher, and for urban bus drivers, the minimum safe driving mileage is also 10,000km higher than in 2023.

For the Traffic Culture Award, drivers also need to achieve a minimum of 5,000km of safe driving distance higher than last year (reaching 20,000km).

Increasing the number of safe driving kilometers is a stricter requirement, but it is consistent with the reality of increasingly expanding and developing transportation activities thanks to the strong investment in transportation infrastructure in recent years.

And regarding the number and structure of awards this year, are there any differences, sir?

In 2024, the Organizing Committee decided to award 60 individual Golden Steering Wheel awards to drivers, 30 collective Golden Steering Wheel awards to transport businesses and cooperatives; and 15 Traffic Culture awards to collectives and individuals.

Thus, compared to 2023, the number of awards in all categories has increased: Individual awards increased from 50 to 60, team awards increased from 20 to 30, and the Traffic Culture award increased from 10 to 15. This gives businesses and drivers more opportunities to access and participate in the awards.

Another new feature of this year's competition is the limit on the number of applications each company can submit to the organizing committee. Why is there this rule?

This year, the organizers have limited each transport company to a maximum of two entries: one collective entry from the company and one entry from the best individual performer, or two individual entries.

This content has been adjusted after incorporating feedback from businesses and automobile transport associations. Clearly, large transport companies with extensive operations have very good criteria for managing their transport activities and a high percentage of safe driving kilometers for their drivers.

However, for small businesses, it may be difficult to meet all the criteria for the team award, but their drivers can still participate and win prizes.

This adjustment to the regulations expands the scope of the competition, allowing drivers from small businesses to have the opportunity to participate.

Transparency in awarding prizes

Now in its 12th year, the Golden Steering Wheel award is receiving increasing support from numerous transportation businesses and drivers. In your opinion, what contributes to this success?

I believe that the development of detailed, specific, objective, and transparent criteria for awarding bonuses has built trust and gained the support of a large number of businesses and drivers.

Mr. Tran Huu Nam, a driver for Vietnam Car Company Limited, is one of 60 drivers who were honored with the 12th Golden Steering Wheel Award in 2024.

This year, in addition to the driver's individual performance report, the application dossier must also include data extracted from the vehicle's tracking device to demonstrate the number of kilometers driven safely, as well as compliance with continuous driving time and speed limits on the road.

The evaluation and awarding process was also organized systematically, with the award judging panel including representatives from the National Traffic Safety Committee, the Transport Department (Ministry of Transport), the Vietnam Road Administration, the Traffic Police Department ( Ministry of Public Security ), the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, etc.

Before being submitted to the National Traffic Safety Committee, the applications from businesses and drivers will be verified by the Department of Transport and the Traffic Police Department based on the conditions and criteria in the award regulations.

In addition, when applications are submitted to the organizing committee, the Vietnam Road Administration will coordinate the verification of data from the vehicle tracking devices of transport companies and verify the number of kilometers driven safely by participating drivers.

The Traffic Police Department will also assist in assessing and verifying the information in the application files of units and individuals, checking whether they have ever committed violations or caused accidents.

Continue to spread the word.

With the Golden Steering Wheel Awards 2024 ceremony scheduled for the evening of December 27th, could you reveal any special aspects of the event?

This year's awards ceremony will continue to be broadcast live and presented in a theatrical format, featuring reports on touching stories, honoring transportation companies and drivers who are safe, conscientious, and selfless in their service to the community.

The ceremony promises to evoke strong emotions not only among drivers and transportation businesses but also among the general public – those who daily use the services provided by these drivers and transportation companies.

The organizers also welcomed the drivers' relatives to attend the awards ceremony and share their joy, thereby helping to spread the meaning of the award and promote traffic safety.

Through the widespread recognition of the award, what is your greatest hope?

This helps to spread the image of transport businesses and transport drivers who are working day and night to ensure road safety.

Currently, the country has approximately 1.2 million commercial transport vehicles and 1.5 million professional drivers working in hundreds of thousands of transport businesses, cooperatives, and individual transport operators. Every day, tens of millions of trips and millions of tons of goods are transported safely.

That result was significantly contributed to by businesses and the team of commercial transport drivers.

Through the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State, along with many strong actions and social commitments, the work of ensuring road traffic safety and order has seen many positive changes in recent times.

However, the traffic accident situation remains complex, with many particularly serious incidents still occurring. Every day, approximately 30 people leave their homes and never return. This means that every day, hundreds of families suffer loss and grief.

Traffic accidents also threaten the achievements of economic growth and damage the image of a safe country in the eyes of the international community. Therefore, we need to do more.

Thank you, sir!

The 12th Golden Steering Wheel Awards ceremony will be held at 8 PM on December 27, 2024, at the Vietnam National Radio Theatre, 58 Quan Su Street, Hang Bong Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi.

The award aims to recognize and honor drivers, transport businesses, and transport cooperatives that have made significant contributions to ensuring traffic safety.

At the 12th Golden Steering Wheel Awards, the National Traffic Safety Committee decided to award prizes to 30 organizations that won the Golden Steering Wheel award for transport businesses and cooperatives; 60 individuals who won the Golden Steering Wheel award for drivers; and 15 individuals and organizations that won the Traffic Culture award.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/giai-thuong-vo-lang-vang-2024-ton-vinh-nhung-bac-tainhan-ai-lai-xe-gioi-192241226223953049.htm