Richard Hanowski joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations”  to talk about harnessing research to help make motorcycle riding safer in low- and middle-income countries. He shared the difference in riding culture in those areas as opposed to the United States and explained how his team is utilizing some of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s pioneering technology to help increase rider safety.  

About Hanowski

Hanowski is a senior research scientist and the director of the Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator on over $100 million of contract research that has resulted in more than 300 publications. His research has impacted national transportation policy on issues such as truck driver fatigue and hours of service and driver distraction.

Takeaways

  • Motorcycle riding in many areas of Southeast Asia is characterized by a high volume of small motorcycles on the road and chaotic driving with little adherence to traffic rules.
  • In Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, roughly 70 percent of roadway fatalities are related to motorcycles.
  • The Motorcycle Collision Alert and Management System aims to improve rider safety through alert systems and data analysis, which provides riders with feedback on their riding behavior and offers training modules to help them become safer riders.

Learn more

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute explores the global impact of motorcycle safety

Virginia Tech researchers receive Fulbright Scholar Awards


Virginia Tech Transportation Institute creates the future of transportation safety

About the podcast

"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Virginia Tech writer and editor Travis Williams, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.

Contact:

Tags

Share this story