Google Research validated hard-braking events (HBEs) from Android Auto as reliable predictors of road crash risk. Analysis of 10 years of crash data from California and Virginia showed roads with higher HBE rates have significantly higher crash rates. HBEs provide 18x more data coverage than traditional crash reports, enabling proactive identification of dangerous road segments without waiting years for crash statistics. The team used negative binomial regression to control for traffic volume, road type, and infrastructure factors. Google Maps Platform is integrating this data into Roads Management Insights to help transportation agencies identify high-risk locations using real-time leading indicators rather than sparse historical crash data.
