A recent study by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revealed that Waymo driverless cars were involved in 68% fewer crashes than human drivers in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin over a three-year period from 2021 to 2024.
During this time frame, there were 89 police-reportable crashes involving Waymo vehicles, while there were 901,525 police-reported crashes caused by human drivers in the same cities, excluding interstates and highways. Notably, 72% of the Waymo-involved crashes occurred when the vehicle was operating without a human driver, with about half of them having passengers on board.
The study indicated that Waymo vehicles covered approximately 80 million kilometers in driverless mode, in contrast to human drivers who traveled 355 billion kilometers in the same locations during the same period. The crash rate for Waymo vehicles was 1.28 crashes per million vehicle miles traveled, significantly lower than the human driver crash rate of 4.06.
The research, based on data collected from police reports, Waymo, and federal databases, highlighted the potential of autonomous vehicles in reducing road accidents. Waymo, currently operational in 11 U.S. states, aims to expand to the United Kingdom and Japan, with lobbying efforts underway in Canada as well.
While the study results are promising for the driverless industry, experts emphasized the importance of transparent and accessible data sharing to build trust in autonomous technology. Challenges such as regulatory barriers and climate differences, especially in Canada with its harsh winters, could impact the widespread adoption of driverless vehicles in the future.
Despite the positive findings, skepticism remains in some quarters, particularly regarding incidents of technical glitches that have garnered attention on social media platforms. Experts underscored that autonomous vehicles are still in the learning phase and may not fully replace human-driven vehicles in the near future.