National Championships Safest Driver in the Netherlands: why take part?

TVM is looking for the safest driver in the Netherlands. The National Championships Safest Driver is a competition where the insurance company looks for the safest truck driver in the Netherlands. A lot of Dutch truck drivers competed against one another during the National Championships.

The National Championships consisted of an online section, with knowledge-based questions, and a physical event to bring the Championships to a close. After the online stage, the best 25 truck drivers qualified for the final. On Saturday 25 September, the finalists competed for the title at the TT Circuit in Assen, by taking various tests. The event at the TT Circuit was organised taking in to account the corona rules applicable at that time. The winner of the National Championships holds the title of the safest driver in our country for a whole year.

Nijman/Zeetank colleague Roy Ruesen enthusiastically signed up for this event and was one of 25 truck drivers to qualify for the final. De Gelderlander newspaper asked Roy the following questions.

Roy, how did you qualify as one of the top 25 safest drivers in the Netherlands?
”I was told about the competition by my employer and I am quite competitive, so I thought it was a good idea. Following the online qualifiers, which involved questions about the driving profession, a reaction time test and a stress test, things went so well that I ended up in thirteenth place with around one thousand drivers taking part.”

Do you hope to raise the profile of drivers by participating in this competition?
”Of course, I want to show that, as drivers, we follow the highest possible standards. I hope that people see this and think ‘wow, working as a driver does actually appeal to me’. In recent years, there has been a huge shortage of workers in this sector and I see that same problem at my own employer.”

Unfortunately, Roy didn’t finish in one of the first three places. Ultimately, the best three remaining candidates competed for the title. Truck driver René de Baat from Klaaswaal was found to be the best and is therefore the winner of the National Championships Safest Driver.

The National Championships were the highlight of the TVM Awards, the name of the safety programme of the insurance company TVM verzekeringen. The main aim of the TVM Awards is to create more awareness of safe driving among all road users, in order to contribute to transport and road safety in the Netherlands. Michel Verwoest, CEO of TVM verzekeringen, presented the TVM Award to René de Baat; this award carries the title of the safest driver in the Netherlands.