El Mundo Castilla y León, Onda Aranjuez and Telecinco, winners of the 21st Línea Directa Foundation Road Safety Journalism Award
- The winners of the 21st Road Safety Journalism Award were Alicia Calvo, from El Mundo Castilla y León in the "Written Press and Online Media" category; Luis María Henares, from Onda Aranjuez, in the "Radio" category; and Noelia Camacho, from Telecinco, in the "Television" category.
- This year, the Solidarity Award was given ex aequo to STOP ACCIDENTES and P(A)T Prevención de Accidentes de Tráfico (Road Accident Prevention), for their effort in the prevention of road accidents and their support to victims of road accidents and their families.
- The Jury, made up of ten prominent figures of the world of business, communication and road safety and chaired by Pere Navarro, Director-General for Traffic, assessed the over 2,100 entries, a record participation in the history of the event.
- On its 65th anniversary, the Civil Guard's Traffic Unit received the Honorary Award for its contribution to road safety, as well as for the prevention of accidents and for their support to victims of road accidents.
- The award-giving ceremony was held on Tuesday, 4 June at the Gran Teatro Príncipe Pío in Madrid and was hosted by Jota Abril.
Madrid, 5 June 2024. The 21st Línea Directa Foundation Road Safety Journalism Award was held at the Gran Teatro Príncipe Pío (Madrid) last night. The event was hosted by Jota Abril, Journalist and Vice President of the Television Academy, in which Línea Directa Foundation recognised the important work of journalists on matters related to road safety, always with the aim of raising awareness on the need for responsible driving in society.
This year's winners were: Alicia Calvo, from El Mundo Castilla y León, for her article "Estela and Noemí: more than just victims number 10 and 49" in the "Written Press and Online Media" category. Luis María Henares from Onda Aranjuez was the winner in the "Radio" category for his feature "You will not find them" and, finally, the award in the "Television" category was given to Noelia Camacho, from Telecinco, for "Joan, a month in coma and his skull broken into pieces after a scooter accident". The winners of each category will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros (net, tax-free).
This year, the Solidarity Award, which recognises the track record and initiatives of the organisations and entities with a firm commitment to road safety, was given ex aequo to the institutions STOP ACCIDENTES and P(A)T, Prevención de Accidentes de Tráfico (Road Accident Prevention). Both will share the cash prize of 10,000 euros (net, tax-free). With this award, the Línea Directa Foundation aims to recognise and support the tireless work of these organisations in the field of road safety and accident prevention.
The Honorary Road Safety Award was also given during the event to the Civil Guard's Traffic Unit, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2024. Línea Directa Foundation wished to highlight that this recognition is for their tireless work on raising awareness, preventing and providing support to road accident victims and on matters related to road safety.
Ousman Umar, 2021 Princess of Girona Award in the "Social" category and founding member of the NGO "NASCO Feeding Minds" also gave a speech during the event, with an inspiring personal story of overcoming the odds and of making a huge effort throughout her life.
Moreover, Patricia Ayuela, CEO of Línea Directa Aseguradora and Vice President of the Línea Directa Foundation discussed the importance of journalism as an instrument to raise society's awareness on matters related to road safety: "A moving story can make a person choose to lift the foot off the accelerator pedal, not drive after drinking or to put on their seatbelt on any given day. Therefore, their stories can save lives and our award is given in recognition for their work".
Jury of the Road Safety Journalism Award
The Jury, chaired by Pere Navarro, Director-General for Traffic, and another nine prominent figures of the world of business, communication and road safety assessed the over 2,100 entries, 5% than in 2023; record participation in the history of the event. This year's jury was made up of:
- Pere Navarro, Director-General for Traffic. Chairman of the Jury.
- Mirenchu del Valle, Chairwoman of UNESPA (Unión Española de Entidades Aseguradoras y Reaseguradoras).
- Pere Macias, Chairman of the Commission for Road Safety of the Chamber of Deputies during the 2011-2015 term.
- Pedro Guerrero, former Chairman of Bankinter and trustee of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation
- Javier García Vila, Director of EUROPA PRESS.
- Vicente Ferrer, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of EL ESPAÑOL.
- Ángel Carreira, Journalist and Political correspondent for ANTENA 3 Noticias.
- Leticia Iglesias, Journalist and TV Presenter of Informativos TELECINCO.
- Lourdes Maldonado, Journalist and Radio Presenter of RNE.
- Ana Corbatón, Journalist of CADENA SER and winner of the twentieth Road Safety Journalism Award in the "Radio" category.
For further information about the 21st Línea Directa Foundation Road Safety Journalism Prize: https://premioperiodistico.fundacionlineadirecta.org/