Waymo Data Hub Shows Just How Safe Self-Driving Taxis Are

Waymo has deployed a new resource in its ongoing efforts to convince the public of the safety of self-driving taxis – an online data hub.

The company’s operations are scaling fast, with its AVs having completed more than 22 million driverless miles by the end of June – a significant increase from the 7 million recorded by December 2023.

However, as robotaxis become a more common sight on the streets of a handful of U.S. cities, they still suffer from an image problem thanks to a number of incidents given extensive coverage in the media.

In the past couple of years alone these have included an unfortunate accident where a pedestrian was dragged along the street in San Francisco by a Cruise self-driving taxi after being hit by another car; an incident in Phoenix when a Waymo cab drove into a telephone pole; and even bizarre stories of uncontrolled honking and impromptu mass gatherings that have blocked roads.

Amid this backdrop, it is perhaps not surprising that an American Automobile Association poll published earlier this year found that only 9% of U.S. drivers say they fully trust self-driving vehicles.

However, Waymo has supreme confidence in its self-driving taxis and has now created a data hub that it claims shows how its tech is helping make roads safer.

Related:Waymo Data Says Its Self-driving Taxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers

As a blog on the company’s website explained: “The new data hub compares the Waymo Driver’s crash rates to humans’ in the cities where we operate. It leverages best practices in safety impact analysis, invites researchers to replicate the results, and will be regularly updated.

“This road safety hub provides an unprecedented level of transparency within the autonomous driving industry.”

It reveals that until the end of June, Waymo’s 300-strong fleet had racked up nearly 15.4 million driverless miles – or “rider-only” in the company’s terminology – covering Phoenix (15.399 million), San Francisco (5.931 million), Los Angeles (855,000) and Auston (14,000).

And the headline statistics from these figures make for impressive reading. 

Analysis shows that in Phoenix and San Francisco – the two cities with statistically significant mileages – Waymo cabs have been involved in 84% fewer crashes with airbag deployment, 73% fewer injury-causing crashes and 48% fewer police-report crashes, compared to human drivers.

Another interesting element of the published data is how it highlights how many of the “crashes” that Waymo is required to report to the National Highway Speed Traffic Administration (NHTSA) are extremely low speed.

Related:Woman Trapped Under Self-Driving Taxi After Freak Accident

The NHTSA has a standing general order that forces mandatory reporting of all incidents involving automated vehicles, but Waymo’s research shows that 43% of the crashes it has referred to had a ”Delta-V” – a metric used to measure the change in velocity in a collision – of less than 1 mph. 

Essentially, these were very minor bumps or scrapes and by highlighting their relative insignificance, Waymo hopes to provide some context to the NHTSA crash figures for members of the public.

Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is that Waymo’s claims are not unsubstantiated, with the data and methodology having been peer-reviewed. 

Publication of the findings has been welcomed by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, whose chief research officer David Zuby said: “By making detailed information about crashes and miles driven publicly available, Waymo’s transparency will not only support independent research but foster public trust.

“We hope other companies developing and deploying automated driving systems follow suit.”