Waymo has partnered with Nexar to create the largest dataset of road safety incidents in the U.S., focusing on interactions with vulnerable road users (VRUs) like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

The collaboration analyzed over 500 million miles of driving data, reconstructing hundreds of crashes involving VRUs to improve automated vehicle safety. This research addresses a critical gap, as VRU collision data is typically underreported to police and insurance companies.

In 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 7,522 pedestrian fatalities and over 67,000 injuries in the U.S., highlighting the urgent need for improved road safety measures.

Waymo currently leads the U.S. robotaxi market with approximately 700 self-driving vehicles operating in Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Their technology combines premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar systems, distinguishing it from competitors like Tesla, which primarily relies on camera-based machine learning.

The dataset will be available to other autonomous driving companies for simulation testing before deployment, promoting broader industry safety improvements. This comes as other autonomous vehicle companies face challenges – Cruise suspended operations following a pedestrian incident, while Tesla's Full Self-Driving software is under investigation for multiple collisions.

This collaborative effort represents a significant step toward understanding and preventing accidents involving vulnerable road users, potentially setting new safety standards for autonomous vehicle development.

Previous Articles