Waymo has made public a study, authored by its engineers, that is scheduled for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Traffic Injury Prevention.
According to a report by InsideEVs last Friday, an analysis of more than 56.7 million miles of driving data revealed that Waymo’s robotaxis had a significantly lower collision rate than human drivers. The data was collected from 31.1 million miles in Phoenix, 18.2 million miles in San Francisco, 6.4 million miles in Los Angeles, and 800,000 miles in Austin.
The study found that vehicle collisions at intersections dropped by 96 percent, while airbag deployment was 91 percent less frequent. Collisions involving bicycles and pedestrians were reduced by 82 percent and 92 percent, respectively. However, some limitations were noted: high-speed highway driving was excluded in certain cities, which naturally reduced collision severity, and airbag deployment was less likely when there were no passengers on board.
Currently, Waymo operates only in warm-weather regions, but it plans to begin service in Washington, D.C. next year—its first deployment in the northeastern United States. Despite this progress, debates over the safety of autonomous vehicles persist, much like with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. Although Waymo aims to prove its safety through transparent data sharing, experts argue that further validation in more diverse driving environments is still necessary.
