Waymo’s driverless cars are involved in fewer crashes than human drivers, but the federal system for monitoring automated vehicles needs improvement, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.
Per vehicle mile traveled (VMT), Waymo’s driverless vehicles deployed in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin were involved in 68% fewer crashes than human drivers, researchers found.
“The results show that, on a limited scale, these driverless cars are safer than human drivers — who can be impaired or drowsy or suffer lapses in attention,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “However, the present data collection system isn’t good enough to allow continuous monitoring of a large-scale expansion.”
