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Waymo driverless cars cut crashes by 68% as Los Angeles collision injures several
A study by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that Waymo’s fully driverless taxis recorded 68% fewer police‑reportable crashes per vehicle mile than human‑driven cars in four cities—San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin—between 2021 and 2024. The analysis covered roughly 50 million autonomous miles (about 80 million kilometres). Human drivers averaged 4.06 crashes per million miles, while Waymo logged 1.28, a reduction of about two‑thirds. Performance varied by city: Phoenix saw a 76% reduction, Los Angeles 71%, San Francisco 35%, while Austin showed a modest 4% increase, likely due to a small sample size.
Separately, a two‑vehicle crash on July 26 near Venice Boulevard and Toberman Street in Los Angeles injured multiple people, sending two to hospital and treating others on scene. Waymo said its robotaxi was traveling east at 27 mph when a faster blue sedan struck a pedestrian, swerved and collided with the Waymo vehicle. Spokesperson Ethan Teicher emphasized rider and road‑user safety as a top priority and noted the company’s coordination with first responders.
Entities
Ethan Teicher · Insurance Institute for Highway Safety · Los Angeles Police Department · Steven Waslander · Waymo · Waymo LLC
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Human drivers averaged 4.06 crashes per million vehicle miles, while Waymo averaged 1.28 per million. www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · electrek.co
- [● 2 SOURCES] Waymo operates driverless robotaxi service in 11 U.S. cities and runs about 500,000 paid trips weekly across 10 cities as of March 2026. uk-times.com · www.independent.co.uk
- [● 5 SOURCES] The study covered the period 2021‑2024 and included San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin. www.autoconnectedcar.com · technews.tw · www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · electrek.co
- [● 2 SOURCES] In Austin, Waymo’s crash rate was 4% higher than that of human drivers. www.memesita.com · technews.tw
- [● 3 SOURCES] Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said the robotaxi was traveling east at 27 mph and was not at fault for the Los Angeles crash. www.latimes.com · uk-times.com · www.independent.co.uk
- [● 2 SOURCES] Waymo accumulated about 50 million autonomous miles (≈80 million km) during the study period. www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com
- [DISPUTED] Waymo driverless cars had 68% fewer police‑reportable crashes per vehicle mile than human drivers in the IIHS study. www.autoconnectedcar.com · technews.tw · www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · electrek.co
- [● 3 SOURCES] A two‑vehicle crash near Venice Boulevard and Toberman Street in Los Angeles injured multiple people, with two hospitalized. www.latimes.com · uk-times.com · www.independent.co.uk
- [● 3 SOURCES] IIHS noted that current crash‑reporting systems for autonomous vehicles are incomplete, limiting safety analysis. www.autoconnectedcar.com · www.jalopnik.com · www.ithome.com
- [● 2 SOURCES] Waymo accumulated roughly 50 million miles (about 80 million km) of autonomous driving during the study period. www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com
- [DISPUTED] Waymo driverless vehicles had 68% fewer police‑reportable crashes per million vehicle miles than human drivers. www.autoconnectedcar.com · www.memesita.com · www.ithome.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · electrek.co
- [● 3 SOURCES] Waymo crash rate was 1.28 crashes per million vehicle miles; human drivers 4.06 crashes per million vehicle miles. www.memesita.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · electrek.co