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 well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Human drivers averaged 4.06 crashes per million vehicle miles, while Waymo averaged 1.28 per million. (IIHS study)
- [● 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. (Waymo data)
- [● 5 SOURCES] The study covered the period 2021‑2024 and included San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin. (IIHS study)
- [● 2 SOURCES] In Austin, Waymo’s crash rate was 4% higher than that of human drivers. (IIHS study)
- [● 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. (Waymo statement)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Waymo accumulated about 50 million autonomous miles (≈80 million km) during the study period. (IIHS study)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Waymo driverless cars had 68% fewer police‑reportable crashes per vehicle mile than human drivers in the IIHS study. (IIHS study)
- [● 3 SOURCES] A two‑vehicle crash near Venice Boulevard and Toberman Street in Los Angeles injured multiple people, with two hospitalized. (Law enforcement reports)
- [● 3 SOURCES] IIHS noted that current crash‑reporting systems for autonomous vehicles are incomplete, limiting safety analysis. (IIHS report)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Waymo accumulated roughly 50 million miles (about 80 million km) of autonomous driving during the study period. (IIHS study)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Waymo driverless vehicles had 68% fewer police‑reportable crashes per million vehicle miles than human drivers. (IIHS study)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Waymo crash rate was 1.28 crashes per million vehicle miles; human drivers 4.06 crashes per million vehicle miles. (IIHS study)