Waymo autonomous taxis cut crash reports by 68% in US study

An analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of 2021‑2024 crash data from 11 U.S. cities found that Waymo’s driver‑less vehicles were involved in 68 % fewer police‑reported accidents than human‑driven cars. Over more than 80 million kilometres of autonomous travel, the rate of reported crashes fell to 0.80 per million kilometres, compared with 2.52 for conventional drivers. The study notes that collisions involving Waymo cars were generally less severe and often caused by other road users rather than the autonomous vehicle itself. However, the data also show higher crash rates for Waymo vehicles at night and slightly poorer performance in Austin during daylight, indicating that the technology is not yet flawless across all conditions.

The findings provide strong evidence of the safety potential of robotaxis but also highlight areas where further improvements are needed before autonomous driving can be considered uniformly safer than human driving.