The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has awarded its Diploma of Honour to 1,041 drivers from 25 countries worldwide for their excellent driving and safety records.

The IRU award honours long-serving, safe, loyal and upstanding professional drivers. It is awarded to national or international goods or passenger drivers who have performed to the satisfaction of current and previous employers, by driving commercial vehicles professionally and safely for a minimum of one million kilometres nationally or internationally, without causing any serious accident involving bodily harm, in the last 20 years. In addition, the drivers must have committed no serious violation of traffic, customs or administrative regulations in any of the countries in which they have driven.

Congratulating the drivers, IRU President Janusz Lacny said, “It is a privilege to award these diplomas to these drivers for their outstanding hard work and dedication to becoming the best in the industry. Their performance over the last 20 years serves as an example to younger drivers and improves the image of the profession. They are the personification of the high level of professionalism that we promote within our sector. They demonstrate the industry’s efforts to improve its safety records by emulating best practices through professional training as provided by the IRU Academy.”

This year’s recipients come from the following countries: Argentina (4), Austria (4), Belarus (90), Belgium (58), Czech Republic (40), Denmark (11), Estonia (1), Finland (82), France (10), Germany (227), Hungary (67), Kazakhstan (2), Macedonia (6), Moldova (3), Netherlands (111), Norway (2), Poland (55), Portugal (3), Romania (10), Russia (89), Slovakia (22), Spain (12), Turkey (82), Ukraine (38), United Kingdom (12).