Waymo robotaxis crashed 68% less often than human drivers in independent safety study

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Bottom line: Waymo's self-driving taxis are now logging enough miles to produce meaningful safety data, and an independent review suggests they crash less often than human drivers, though the comparison comes with important qualifications. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety analyzed federal crash data from 2021 through 2024 and found that Waymo vehicles were involved in fewer police-reportable crashes per mile driven.

Over roughly 50 million autonomous miles, Waymo recorded 1.28 crashes per million miles traveled, compared with 4.06 for human drivers. That works out to a 68% lower crash rate for incidents serious enough to typically be reported.

The analysis centers on Level 4 autonomous systems, which can operate without a driver in specific, mapped areas. Waymo is currently the most established operator in that category. Its robotaxi service operates in 11 US cities and has completed tens of millions of trips, giving researchers a relatively large dataset to work with.