New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

Summary

The path to Vision Zero requires reducing severe crashes and improving the safety of those most at risk. Our latest research paper shows that the Waymo Driver is making significant strides in both areas. By reducing the most dangerous crashes and providing better protection for pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users, Waymo is making streets safer in cities where it operates.The paper, accepted to be published in the Traffic Injury Prevention Journal, expands on our Safety Impact Hub research, providing a deeper analysis of Waymo’s performance across 11 different crash types compared to human drivers. It also offers new insights into Waymo’s positive impact on serious injury crash rates.Types of crashes used for the Waymo Driver and human benchmark comparisons The research finds that, compared to human benchmarks over 56.7 million miles and regardless of who was at fault, the Waymo Driver had:Safer interactions with vulnerable road users (VRUs) with substantial reductions in crashes involving injuries among pedestrians (92% reduction), cyclists (82% reduction), and motorcyclists (82% reduction). 96% fewer injury-involving intersection crashes, which, according to NHTSA, are a leading cause of severe road harm for human drivers. This reduction can be largely attributed to the Waymo Driver’s ability to detect and appropriately respond to vehicles running a red light. 85% fewer crashes with suspected serious or worse injuries. Building on our previous research, which demonstrated Waymo’s significant reductions across all injuries combined, the new study provides early evidence for similar benefits in serious injuries alone. The results are statistically significant but because serious injury cases are, fortunately, rare, they’re based on a small number of events. We will continue to monitor outcomes and gain greater confidence as we accumulate more miles.VIDEOThese findings add to the growing body of data that the Waymo Driver is reducing the most danger...