Google Uses Insurance Data to Show Its Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers

Google's Waymo is using liability insurance data in its latest attempt to prove that its self-driving robotaxis can be a safer, smarter, way to travel.

A study produced through a partnership between Waymo and insurance provider Swiss Re found that its autonomous vehicles significantly reduced the frequency of property damage claims and bodily injury claims filed in Arizona and California. Swiss Re compared overall liability insurance claims data over five years, from Zip Codes where driverless vehicles operate in those states, against claims involving Waymo vehicles in Phoenix and San Francisco between Jan. 2018 and Aug. 2023.

Notably, this is the first study that used liability claims, rather than police reports or other metrics, to determine how safe driverless vehicles are, according to Waymo.

Waymo's robotaxis were found to be safer than human-driven vehicles; When the driverless vehicles drove unaccompanied by a human driver they caused zero bodily injury claims, compared to more than 1.1 million claims caused by human drivers, over 3.8 million miles of testing, according to Swiss Re's baseline. Property damage claims dropped a whopping 76%.

Additionally, when Waymo vehicles were piloted by its software and partnered with a driver ready to take the wheel, property damage claims dropped by 95% and bodily injury claims fell by 92% after driving more than 35 million miles, according to the study.

“The Waymo Driver is already improving road safety in cities where we operate — a conclusion we’ve come to by analyzing our Driver’s safety performance and through peer-reviewed research,” Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña said in a news release.

While Waymo's robotaxis have operated in both San Francisco and Phoenix since 2018, the company has received increased scrutiny over the last few months. After California regulators voted last month to expand the presence of Waymo, and rival robotaxi operator Cruise, San Francisco officials have attempted to halt their presence in the city, citing traffic disruptions and "debauched" activities occurring in the vehicles.

Since April 2022, the San Francisco Fire Department has logged almost 60 reports of driverless vehicles interfering with its operations, and there have been dozens of testimonials reporting Cruise and Waymo vehicles getting trapped in wet concrete or stopping in the middle of busy streets. Unlike Cruise, which cut its fleet of self-driving cars in half last month, Waymo has maintained its current fleet.

Proponents of robotaxis contend that these autonomous vehicles provide a necessary service to keep drunk drivers off the road, provide a safe alternative to rideshare services and make the roads generally safer. But data is sparse, leaving Waymo to attempt to fill that gap through virtual crash simulations and a series of scientific studies.