In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are Waymo and Cruise.
Way Mo’ Waymo Study of VRUs
Every day, millions of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists share the road with larger vehicles, facing unique safety risks due to their lack of protection. To better understand these risks and enhance road safety, Waymo partnered with Nexar to reconstruct hundreds of VRU (vulnerable road user) crashes, resulting in the largest U.S. dataset of its kind.
THe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates of 7,522 pedestrian and 1,105 cyclist fatalities in 2022 alone, data on VRU collisions remains limited.
Through years of study, Waymo has analyzed various real-world collision scenarios involving VRUs and human-driven vehicles. Research has examined VRU collision dynamics, injury patterns, and specific risks in urban environments, providing insight into safety improvements.
Their most recent study with Nexar reconstructed and analyzed 335 VRU-involved collisions in six major U.S. cities, leveraging over 500 million miles of Nexar’s driving data to gain unprecedented detail on crash scenarios.
Waymo’s analysis shows that injury risk varies across VRU types (cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians) depending on factors like vehicle trajectory and collision speed.
To enhance accuracy, Waymo worked with research partner VUFO, incorporating data from the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) to build more holistic injury risk models that account for factors such as VRU age and size.
In collaboration with VUFO, Waymo aims to address existing gaps in VRU injury risk modeling, developing interdisciplinary approaches to better predict injury outcomes. According to VUFO’s Henrik Liers, this partnership advances road safety by enhancing the precision of injury risk assessments for VRUs.
With Waymo’s extensive real-world driving data and safety protocols, including advanced simulation testing and community-informed features like Safe Exit, the company is making strides in building VRU confidence around its autonomous technology.
Cruise Fined $500K
Cruise LLC, a San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle company, has agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement and a $500,000 fine for submitting a false report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding a 2023 crash. In the incident, a Cruise vehicle ran over a pedestrian thrown into its path and subsequently dragged the individual due to its detection system’s failure. Cruise’s report to NHTSA omitted key details about the dragging.
The agreement requires Cruise to accept responsibility, implement a Safety Compliance Program, cooperate with investigations, and submit annual compliance reports for three years. The resolution considers Cruise’s internal investigation, cooperation with authorities, and operational improvements. If Cruise fails to meet its obligations, federal prosecution may proceed.