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Joint award from DVR, EVU, and DEKRA

Anna Theander Honored with the European Commercial Vehicle Safety Award

Oct 29, 2025 Safety on the road / Automotive

Anna Theander has been awarded the European Commercial Vehicle Safety Award 2025. The prize was awarded for the 36th time jointly by the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis (EVU), the expert organization DEKRA and the German Road Safety Council (DVR). The official award ceremony took place during the DEKRA Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference in Berlin. The award winner is Leader of the Volvo Trucks Accident Research Team.

“Anna Theander has made an essential contribution on the road towards Vision Zero”, said EVU Chairman of the Board Prof. Michael Weyde in his laudatory speech. “Her experience in sensor technology for distance measurement and object detection as well as its implementation in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems have played a part in making trucks significantly safer. The combination with her extensive experience in analyzing real-life accidents makes her an accomplished expert. We are honoring her achievements for road safety with this award.”
Anna Theander studied electrical engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. She obtained a master’s degree in 2003. After graduating, she began her career at SaabTech, specializing in laser technology. In 2005, she became involved in her first active safety project — the LIDAR-based City Safety emergency braking system at Volvo Cars. Anna Theander joined the Volvo Group in 2008, where she spent ten years working on various advanced driver assistance systems. In 2018, she became the Leader of the Accident Research Team at Volvo Group Trucks Technology. The team contributes to improving road safety and making transport system safer by meticulously investigating traffic accidents and deriving valuable insights from them, as well as gathering data from accident statistics to identify recurring patterns. As part of the SAFER vehicle and traffic safety research center at Chalmers University of Technology, Anna Theander has been involved in several scientific projects since 2020. She has been actively engaged in their research and is currently leading a working group focused on road accident statistics.
“Over the past 20 years, Anna Theander has made a significant contribution to road safety work with outstanding commitment and great professional competence,” said Stefan Grieger, CEO of the German Road Safety Council (DVR). “The vision of a world without traffic accidents has always been the guiding principle of her work. She deserves the highest recognition for her achievements, which is expressed in this award.”
Jann Fehlauer, Managing Director of DEKRA Automobil GmbH, commented on the award: “It is not without reason that many active safety systems were first mandated in heavy commercial vehicles. This is where they can make a particularly big difference, as truck accidents almost always have serious consequences for other road users. Anna Theander’s work in the development of assistance systems and in accident research has advanced road safety – we are once again honoring a deserving award recipient in 2025.”
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