Waymo’s autonomous electric taxis crash 68% less than the average human driver, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with lower-severity crashes on average as well. But there are some important caveats that limit the data.
In recent years, we’ve seen a proliferation of companies offering autonomous taxi services with “level 4” automation – the ability to operate with no driver in the car, at least in a limited (geofenced) area.
The leader among these services has been Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s Alphabet, Inc.
It now offers autonomous ride-hailing services in 11 US cities, covering a total area larger than a US state (okay, that state is Rhode Island… well, it’s a start).
It has provided tens of millions of trips so far, which gives us an opportunity to examine the data and see how well these robots can actually drive.
