Waymo robotaxis found to crash 68% less often than human drivers

Waymo’s robotaxis are now safer than human drivers, according to an analysis of data from self-driving juggernaut Waymo — in spite of headlines about automated vehicles causing chaos on some city streets.The Alphabet subsidiary’s driverless cars crash 68% less often than human drivers, according to a recently published study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit focused on reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from vehicle crashes.  The study indicates the self-driving tech – which has long been touted as a game-changer as more than 1 million people die each year in traffic accidents – has been making strides.The study compared the rate at which Waymo-run and human-operated vehicles were involved in crashes in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin.Waymo’s rate was 76% lower than the human rate in Phoenix, 71% lower in LA and 35% lower in San Francisco.

Humans bested Waymos by 4% in Austin.Waymo leads the autonomous ride-hailing market with 577 registered driverless vehicles and roughly 500,000 paid rides each week across 10 cities.The high safety marks for Waymo come after incidents like a number of Waymos getting clogged on San Francisco streets over the summer, leaving thousands to hoof it home on foot during a disastrous July Fourth celebration. One Waymo appeared to drive directly through an exploding firework while its passengers watched in horror.The Post has sought comment from Waymo.Comparing robot-car accident data with that of human drivers isn’t a perfect match and the study had to account for numerous data challenges, the authors wrote.The study’s sample was restricted to crashes that a person would typically report to the police and analyzed crash rates of driverless cars from 2021 to 2024. According to the study, of Waymo’s 89 police-reportable crashes, 64 were in driverless mode, while the other crashes involved supervised use of automation.Waymo vehicles traveled about 50 million mile...