Waymo and Street Racing Kills Partner to Drive Road Safety, Save Lives
Engines rev and tires screech as the cars surge forward through clouds of exhaust, leaving everything behind on the Irwindale Speedway outside Los Angeles. Lili and Lori know they can’t stop people from driving fast; They just want to keep it off public roads.
“Street racing is illegal, racing is a sport,” said Lili Trujillo Puckett, a Los Angeles mother who founded an organization in 2014 to prevent illegal street racing after her daughter, Valentina, was killed in a street racing crash. The driver was a young man who had offered 16-year-old Valentina a ride home.
According to LAPD data, street racing in Los Angeles in early 2024 was up 50% from the same period in 2023 and speeding is involved in nearly one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“I named the organization Street Racing Kills because that's exactly what killed my daughter,” Lili said. “I didn't sugarcoat it.”
Rainbow Halo, by artist John Morse, honoring people killed in traffic crashes.
The day of the crash, even as she was grieving, Lili knew she had to do something to honor her daughter and prevent more loss of life.
“Within five months I was at my fourth school speaking to over 500 kids, and I haven’t stopped ever since,” Lili shared.
Street Racing Kills offers programs at high schools, community events, and college to educate young drivers ranging mainly in age from 17 to 26 on everything from illegal street racing and reckless driving to impaired driving and pedestrian safety. The organization’s school presentations feature victims sharing their personal stories and car displays showing the impact of crashes. They also organize a safe driving school in partnership with organizations such as AAA of SoCal.
Now, Street Racing Kills is partnering with Waymo to explore how autonomous driving technology like Waymo’s could improve road safety. Waymo is designed to obey road laws including speed limits and drive with the safety of passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and all other road users in mind.
“You need to collaborate with other organizations to truly save lives,” said Lori Argumedo, the outreach and community relations director for Street Racing Kills. “Waymo is just another way of saving lives.”
Lori joined Street Racing Kills about a week after losing her niece, Bethany, to a street racing crash in 2019. Bethany had just finished a nursing program to become a dialysis technician and was excited to save lives. Lori thinks about her every day.
“This is why I work so hard at helping save lives because Bethany died in a way that nobody should have died,” Lori said. “Her death was a hundred percent preventable and if I can save one family from going through the same pain and agony that my family had to endure, then it's worth it.”
Lori and Lili both recently rode with Waymo in Los Angeles where the company offers a fully autonomous ride-hailing service.
Lori and Lili, seen with a Waymo autonomous vehicle, in Los Angeles.
“I felt extremely safe,” Lori said, adding that she appreciates how Waymo is designed to see all around, never drive distracted, and obey speed limits. “I didn't have to worry about somebody answering a phone, responding to a text message, not seeing somebody cross the street, deciding to speed up because they want to get to the next ride at a faster pace.”
While Lori and Lili recognize unsafe driving, they say their goal is not to reprimand young drivers, but to empower them to drive safely. They even take young drivers from the street to the Irwindale Speedway so they can race in a safe space far away from public roads.
“The reason why I enjoy coming to Irwindale Speedway is because individuals that go through our program love to race,” said Lori. “They're not going to stop, but they can do it in a safe place.”
Lori said her organization is teaching young drivers they can pursue their passion for racing without putting other lives at risk.
Member of Street Racing Kills, wearing a shirt honoring those who have lost their lives due to street racing.
“You can feel the adrenaline, you can see the people that are excited to go fast,” Lori said. “But that 15 seconds of adrenaline rush is not worth taking somebody's life.”
Lili said she is excited how Waymo represents the model of a safe driver.
“It’s not going to street race, it’s not going to drive under the influence or text and drive,” Lili said. “If you’re in the traffic safety world, you have to partner with Waymo one hundred percent – it’s exactly what we need.”
