New Waymo data shows self-driving tech drives safer than humans

Self-driving technology company Waymo said its robotaxis are making roads safer in the markets where it operates — and is sharing data to back its claims.

The company said its autonomous driver had 73 percent fewer injury-causing crashes compared with human motorists driving the same number of miles in the same areas.

The numbers were culled from a new online database Waymo created containing information from its own records and federal safety repositories. The "research hub" is expected to help third-party researchers trace and vet the company's claims.

"By making detailed information about crashes and miles driven publicly accessible, Waymo's transparency will not only support independent researchers but foster public trust," said David Zuby, chief research officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary, touted the new database and information hub as an industry first. It helps shed light on whether self-driving technology can reduce injuries and deaths stemming from traffic crashes, though independent researchers have not yet reviewed the findings.

The database, which launched Sept. 5, comes at a time safety experts and local officials are asking self-driving technology companies to be more forthcoming with information on their deployments.

Further, it arrives as Waymo scales its driverless operations across the country. Last month, the company reached a key benchmark: It is providing more than 100,000 driverless rides per week.

It operates approximately 600 robotaxis in the Bay Area and Phoenix, and intends to ramp up ongoing efforts in metro Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, within months.

"The trust and safety of the communities where we operate is paramount to us," Waymo said in a statement. "That's why we're voluntarily sharing our safety data."

Waymo's safety research team first shared milestones regarding its safety data last December. The company updated its statistics in advance of the data hub unveiling.

Among other findings derived from 22 million miles of operation comparing robotaxis with human drivers:

• Waymo robotaxis have 84 percent fewer crashes resulting in airbag deployments.
• The autonomous vehicles had 48 percent fewer police-reported crashes.
• The company did not make comparisons of fatality data because its researchers said 22 million miles of real-world driving was insufficient to draw statistically meaningful conclusions. But it has reconstructed fatal, real-world crashes that occurred in its operational areas. In simulation, it avoided all crashes when the Waymo self-driving system played the role of the crash initiator, and 82 percent of collisions when it played the responder role.

Beyond the company's crash data, the hub includes information regarding autonomous-vehicle crashes reported to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration database. Autonomous vehicle companies are required to report crash information to NHTSA.

NHTSA has used those crash reports to bolster its understanding of automated vehicles and launch investigations into companies, including Waymo.

The federal safety regulator identified 31 incidents over a three-year period involving Waymo vehicles that raised concerns. In a letter to Waymo, NHTSA officials said several involved "collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid." The investigation remains ongoing.

There has been another anomaly since that investigation started. In August, a Waymo robotaxi with a passenger aboard turned into an oncoming lane of traffic at a Tempe, Ariz., intersection. There was no collision and nobody was hurt, but the incident captured the type of attention Waymo and the industry are hoping to avoid.

Scrutiny of robotaxi safety has increased since October when a vehicle operated by Cruise, a Waymo competitor, ran over a pedestrian in San Francisco, causing "multiple traumatic injuries," according to first responders.

Industry leaders have underscored the need for clear autonomous-vehicle safety metrics and more transparent dealings with regulators and the general public as they offer increased commercial service.

"Keep holding us all accountable and pushing autonomous-vehicle developers to be clear about their approaches to safety, and to prove it in their actions and not just their words," Cruise Chief Safety Officer Steve Kenner said at an industry conference in July.