Waymo’s driverless robotaxis recorded fewer crashes per mile than human drivers across four U.S. cities, according to a study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which also called for improvements to the country’s automated vehicle crash reporting system.
Lower Crash Rates Across Most Cities
The study compared approximately 50 million driverless miles driven by Waymo’s Level 4 robotaxi fleet with an estimated 222 billion miles driven by human-operated vehicles in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin.
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According to IIHS, Waymo vehicles experienced 68% fewer crashes per mile overall than human drivers during the study period.
Crash rates were 76% lower in Phoenix, 71% lower in Los Angeles and 35% lower in San Francisco. Austin was the only city where the crash rate was slightly higher, at 4% above that of human drivers, which IIHS attributed to the relatively small sample size.
The study also found that Waymo vehicles were involved in 85% fewer single-vehicle crashes and 81% fewer injury crashes per mile compared with human-driven vehicles.
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Reporting System Faces Challenges
Alongside the safety findings, IIHS concluded that the current national reporting framework for automated vehicle crashes requires significant improvement as autonomous driving technology expands.
IIHS President David Harkey said the available evidence indicates that, on a limited scale, driverless vehicles have demonstrated a stronger safety performance than human drivers. However, he noted that existing data collection systems are not yet sufficient to support long-term oversight as autonomous vehicle deployments grow.
According to the study, of the 736 crashes involving automated driving systems reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between 2021 and 2024, only 22% met the threshold for police-reportable crashes.
Need for Better Safety Data
IIHS said the difference reflects stricter federal reporting requirements for automated vehicle operators than those applied to privately operated vehicles.
Eric Teoh, Director of Statistical Services at IIHS, said improving data collection will be important to accurately assess autonomous vehicle safety as deployment expands.
Waymo currently operates commercial Level 4 robotaxi services in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, with additional expansion planned in other U.S. cities.
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