Driverless taxis and cars have been a hot talking point for a while. Many have been fearful of how safe they actually are, and whether we should be letting them control vehicles and be in charge of our lives, as well as those of those around us.
Robotaxis are becoming far more common, with companies like Waymo and Uber investing very heavily in the technology, and in some cases partnering up with automotive manufacturers. Waymo has become one of the biggest names in the robotaxi world.
While many may worry about the safety of the vehicles, it appears we may not need to. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Waymo robotaxis might actually be safer than human drivers. Even if there are some downsides, as various news reports over recent months have shown us.
We’ve probably all seen the footage of a bunch of Waymo taxis invading streets and Cul-De-Sacs, causing a lot of carnage and chaos. However, it is easy to forget that in the midst of all that, the taxis aren’t crashing. They are incredibly safe, and in many ways, they might drive safer than a lot of us do.
This Is What the IIHS Said About Waymo Taxis
The IIHS studied crash data from July 2021 to December 2024, involving both robotaxis and cars driven by humans. Waymo itself has its own crash data, and they account for around 90 percent of commercial, driverless robotaxi miles in the United States. They have logged over 200 million miles already in real-world traffic.
The statistics from the IIHS speak volumes. According to the company president, David Harkey, research from San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin shows the taxis were involved in 68 percent fewer crashes than humans. “The results show that, on a limited scale, these driverless cars are safer than human drivers — who can be impaired or drowsy or suffer lapses in attention,” said Harkey.
There are, however, some discrepancies. It is difficult to provide an apples-to-apples comparison between robotaxis and human vehicles, given the different reporting requirements. Waymo is also the only company that is voluntarily providing the number of driverless vehicle miles traveled. Despite how difficult it is proving to be to get the comparison, the taxis do genuinely seem to be quite a lot safer than their human counterparts. Having a crash involvement rate 68 percent less than that of humans is a big win for Waymo.
The Pitfalls of Waymo Taxis
@reel_world45 Seems that the self driving cars waymo has Atlanta traffic backed up because in treating that malfunction light as red light and won’t go 🤣 #future #ai #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – reel_world45
Despite this, it hasn’t been plain sailing for the taxis. In Atlanta, a recent incident saw three of the taxis stop at a flashing red light as they were confused it was a solid red, and they could not move. A flashing red light means stop but proceed when safe to do so, and the taxis couldn’t get their head around this; thus, they all sat, blocking the road for anyone who was behind them. That isn’t the only time that the robotaxis have caused trouble.
A report from CBS Evening News reported that one neighborhood had 40-50 of the taxis get stuck after they became confused by a green traffic man. The converted Jaguar SUVs remained stuck and couldn’t get out of the situation without a huge amount of difficulty and chaos. So while the taxis might be safer, they are still causing a lot of problems.