Investigating Robotaxi Crash Severity with Geographical Random Forest and the Urban Environment

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Jiao, Junfeng, Baik, Seung Gyu, Choi, Seung Jun, Xu, Yiming
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jiao, Junfeng
Baik, Seung Gyu
Choi, Seung Jun
Xu, Yiming
author_facet Jiao, Junfeng
Baik, Seung Gyu
Choi, Seung Jun
Xu, Yiming
contents This paper quantitatively investigates the crash severity of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) with spatially localized machine learning and macroscopic measures of the urban built environment. Extending beyond the microscopic effects of individual infrastructure elements, we focus on the city-scale land use and behavioral patterns, while addressing spatial heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation. We implemented a spatially localized machine learning technique called Geographical Random Forest (GRF) on the California AV collision dataset. Analyzing multiple urban measures, including points of interest, building footprint, and land use, we built a GRF model and visualized it as a crash severity risk map of San Francisco. This paper presents three findings. First, spatially localized machine learning outperformed regular machine learning in predicting AV crash severity. The bias-variance tradeoff was evident as we adjusted the localization weight hyperparameter. Second, land use was the most important predictor, compared to intersections, building footprints, public transit stops, and Points Of Interest (POIs). Third, AV crashes were more likely to result in low-severity incidents in city center areas with greater diversity and commercial activities, than in residential neighborhoods. Residential land use is likely associated with higher severity due to human behavior and less restrictive environments. Counterintuitively, residential areas were associated with higher crash severity, compared to more complex areas such as commercial and mixed-use areas. When robotaxi operators train their AV systems, it is recommended to: (1) consider where their fleet operates and make localized algorithms for their perception system, and (2) design safety measures specific to residential neighborhoods, such as slower driving speeds and more alert sensors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_06762
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Investigating Robotaxi Crash Severity with Geographical Random Forest and the Urban Environment
Jiao, Junfeng
Baik, Seung Gyu
Choi, Seung Jun
Xu, Yiming
Machine Learning
Robotics
This paper quantitatively investigates the crash severity of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) with spatially localized machine learning and macroscopic measures of the urban built environment. Extending beyond the microscopic effects of individual infrastructure elements, we focus on the city-scale land use and behavioral patterns, while addressing spatial heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation. We implemented a spatially localized machine learning technique called Geographical Random Forest (GRF) on the California AV collision dataset. Analyzing multiple urban measures, including points of interest, building footprint, and land use, we built a GRF model and visualized it as a crash severity risk map of San Francisco. This paper presents three findings. First, spatially localized machine learning outperformed regular machine learning in predicting AV crash severity. The bias-variance tradeoff was evident as we adjusted the localization weight hyperparameter. Second, land use was the most important predictor, compared to intersections, building footprints, public transit stops, and Points Of Interest (POIs). Third, AV crashes were more likely to result in low-severity incidents in city center areas with greater diversity and commercial activities, than in residential neighborhoods. Residential land use is likely associated with higher severity due to human behavior and less restrictive environments. Counterintuitively, residential areas were associated with higher crash severity, compared to more complex areas such as commercial and mixed-use areas. When robotaxi operators train their AV systems, it is recommended to: (1) consider where their fleet operates and make localized algorithms for their perception system, and (2) design safety measures specific to residential neighborhoods, such as slower driving speeds and more alert sensors.
title Investigating Robotaxi Crash Severity with Geographical Random Forest and the Urban Environment
topic Machine Learning
Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.06762