At the ASEAN Safety and Health Workers Summit 2025 organized by NIOSH and KESUMA, Dr. Rich Hanowski introduced RideHawk™ to the Malaysian market, demonstrating how connected collision-avoidance technology and fleet telematics address the critical blind spot of worker commuting crashes.
Speaking at the ASEAN Safety and Health Workers Summit 2025, organized by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA), Dr. Rich Hanowski (Founder & CEO of Motorcycle Safety Solutions) addressed regional Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) directors on one of industry’s most critical blind spots: employee transit safety.
The presentation, titled "Supporting Worker Health and Safety Beyond 9AM–5PM: Mitigating Road Crash Risk for Staff that Commute Via Motorcycle," examined how conventional safety frameworks fall short once workers leave the workplace gate.
The OSH Director’s Greatest Challenge
In Malaysia, two out of every three reported workplace-related fatal and serious injury incidents stem from commuting crashes, predominantly involving motorcyclists. While OSH directors maintain robust hazard mitigation policies within industrial sites, daily road commutes remain outside traditional controls. With Malaysia expanding non-occupational social security protection (such as the Non-Occupational Accident Scheme, SKBBK), enterprise responsibilities are rapidly expanding to encompass 24-hour employee transit well-being.
From MCAS Research to RideHawk™ Commercialization
Dr. Hanowski traced the technological evolution of RideHawk™ from its origins:
Empirical Roots: Beginning in 2017 in collaboration with MIROS and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), research examined prominent crash configurations—notably "truck-struck" rear-end impacts involving heavy vehicles in breakdown lanes.
Global Recognition: The precursor Motorcycle Collision Alert System (MCAS) was awarded the prestigious International Road Federation (IRF) Global Road Achievement Award in 2023 for innovation in road safety technology.
Evolution to MCAMS: Building upon standalone Forward Collision Warning (FCW), the system evolved into the comprehensive Motorcycle Collision Alert and Management System (MCAMS)—branded commercially as RideHawk™—incorporating telematics, AI safety scoring, and enterprise fleet management tools.
Three Layers of Rider & Fleet Protection
The summit demonstrated RideHawk’s integrated ecosystem designed specifically for ASEAN's high-density traffic environments:
- Proactive Hazard Avoidance: A forward-facing distance sensor coupled with an intuitive rider display provides real-time audio-visual alerts to restore situational awareness prior to impact.
- Rider Coaching & Gamification: A companion mobile app processes high-frequency edge data to generate safety scores, distance warning audits, and defensive riding recommendations.
- MSS Intelligence Fleet Management: A cloud dashboard enabling enterprise safety managers to monitor fleet risk indices, trip trajectories, and leading indicator heatmaps across commuter and commercial delivery operations.
By bringing proven active safety paradigms from commercial trucking to lightweight motorcycles, RideHawk™ provides employers with a proactive, measurable tool to fulfill Vision Zero goals and safeguard commuting workforces.
