Kay Morschheuser, head of commercial vehicle accident analyses and safety strategies at Daimler for many years, is to receive the 2020 European Commercial Vehicle Safety Award, which is jointly presented by the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis (EVU), the German Road Safety Council (DVR) and expert organization DEKRA. An official award ceremony is to be held in the coming year when the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic allows.
“We’re honoring Kay Morschheuser at the end of his professional career in recognition of the special contribution his work in the area of accident research has made to the safety of commercial vehicles over the past decades,” said EVU President Jörg Ahlgrimm. “Detailed analysis of real accidents forms a key basis for developing and refining safety systems in the vehicles by highlighting where action needs to be taken. The development of safety systems such as emergency braking or turning assist was very significantly influenced by insights gained from the accident research conducted by Kay Morschheuser and his team. These systems save lives.”
Kay Morschheuser studied automotive engineering as part of his mechanical engineering degree in Hanover and worked in accident research at Hannover Medical School at the end of his degree studies. After graduating in 1988, he started as a testing engineer in the field of commercial vehicle safety investigations at Mercedes-Benz AG. In the 1990s, he mainly worked on developing airbags for trucks and also conducted crash tests on trucks in this context. Since 1998, he has been responsible for accident analyses and safety strategies in European truck development at Daimler. In this role, he played a part in many aspects of international traffic safety work relating to commercial vehicles. He entered the passive phase of partial retirement at the end of October 2020.
Clemens Klinke, member of the Management Board of DEKRA SE, said the following in response to the award: “Enormous progress has been made in recent decades with regard to traffic safety in the commercial vehicle sector. A look at the accident statistics demonstrates this. We must maintain our efforts to ensure these positive developments continue. Kay Morschheuser created important foundations that will continue to play a role in this. The European Commercial Vehicle Safety Award is our way of acknowledging his service.”
DVR President Prof. Walter Eichendorf also paid tribute to the award winner. “The DVR and its members have been working tirelessly for over 50 years to further reduce the number of accidents and mitigate their consequences. In doing so, we are guided by the ‘VISION ZERO’ safety strategy. The introduction of active and passive safety systems, often in commercial vehicles initially, has helped to significantly reduce the number of accidents in the past and will continue to play a key role in improving safety on our roads in the future.”
