- Waymo has analyzed crash data from 271 million miles of robotaxi operations.
- The data suggests Waymos were involved in 841 fewer crashes than human drivers.
- Several clips released by Waymo show near-misses with pedestrians.
Whenever a robotaxi is involved in a crash of any kind, it’s big news. Meanwhile, more than 15,000 crashes involving human-driven cars are reported to police in the US every day, so just because you may hear about a Waymo or Tesla Robotaxi getting involved in an accident, it doesn’t mean they’re unsafe. According to Waymo’s own data, its robotaxis are actually significantly less likely to be involved in an accident than humans.
Following an analysis of 271 million driverless miles by its robotaxi fleet in Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Waymo says its vehicles are involved in 95 percent fewer crashes causing serious injury, or worse, than cars driven by the average Joe.
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Every day, approximately 100 people are killed in crashes on US roads, a devastating figure that lawmakers have been trying to reduce for years. Waymo says its robotaxis are far less likely to be involved in serious crashes, and adds they’re 82 percent less likely to be involved in minor injury-causing collisions.
Keeping Pedestrians Safe
Across the 271 million miles analyzed through the end of June, the robotaxis were involved in 841 fewer injury-causing crashes than human drivers would have been. In addition, there were 93 percent fewer crashes involving pedestrians, 86 percent fewer impacting cyclists, and 82 percent fewer with motorcyclists.
While the safety gap between the Waymo Driver and human drivers in this data is stark, fully autonomous robotaxis are likely even safer than the figures suggest. About 60 percent of crashes with human drivers that cause property damage are estimated to be not reported to police. In addition, roughly 32 percent of crashes that cause injuries go unreported. By comparison, firms operating autonomous vehicle fleets like Waymo must report even the most minor crashes.
Waymo has released a video showing some of the crashes its Robotaxi has avoided in recent months. In one clip, a pedestrian quickly runs out from behind a parked car, directly into the path of a Waymo. Remarkably, the self-driving taxi stopped before hitting him. A separate near-miss occurred at night when a cyclist crossed an intersection against a red light, directly into the path of the Waymo. While many human drivers probably would have hit the cyclist, the robotaxi avoided them.
