Waymo's Self-Driving Cars Crash Less Often Than Human Drivers: Study

Waymo's self-driving cars were involved in fewer crashes than human drivers per vehicle mile traveled according to a study published this week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The nonprofit organization backed by the insurance industry analyzed crash rates in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin using available data. Waymo vehicles traveled about 50 million miles autonomously during the period studied, compared to about 222 billion miles for human drivers in the same locations over the same timespan. The overall crash rate for Waymo vehicles was 68% lower per vehicle mile traveled than human drivers, with city-specific reductions of 76% in Phoenix, 35% in San Francisco, and 71% in Los Angeles. The Waymo fleet had 4% higher crashes in Austin than human drivers, though the sample size was relatively small. Waymo cars were involved in 85% fewer single-vehicle crashes and 81% fewer injury-related crashes per vehicle mile traveled than human drivers overall. Eric Teoh, lead author of the study, said in a statement about the results that those are encouraging signs for the future of driverless vehicles and that data collection systems need improvement to ensure safety continues as technologies become more prevalent.