TomTom and Verizon announced a 5G innovation project focused on making intersections safer for emergency vehicles at TechCrunch Disrupt SF.

Each year in the U.S., there are an estimated 6,500 accidents involving ambulances and about 300 police cruiser pursuits that lead to injuries or fatalities. Over a 10-year period, there were roughly 31,600 accidents involving fire vehicles. TomTom and Verizon are working to help change that by making it easier for emergency vehicles to move more safely through intersections using TomTom HD (High Definition) Maps in combination with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. This collaboration contributes to the global Vision Zero initiative that aims to eradicate fatalities and serious traffic accidents involving road traffic. Working together at the Mcity Test Facility, the University of Michigan’s testbed for autonomous vehicles, the companies are exploring how 5G-connected cars, traffic lights, and cameras at intersections can boost pedestrian safety and avoid accidents.

Using TomTom HD Maps to create an essentially real-time 3D visualization of an intersection, along with near real-time kinematics and the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network, the goal of this initiative is to enable the sharing of location information coming from all entities at the intersection with emergency vehicles in near real-time with near-perfect reliability and accuracy.