Waymo says its self-driving cars are safer than human drivers by up to 10x
Waymo has released a report saying that its Waymo Driver self-driving vehicles outperform human drivers significantly, leading to much fewer crashes and injuries when compared to benchmark human drivers.
Waymo’s data claims a 57% reduction in crashes that were reported to the police and an 85% reduction in crashes that caused any bodily injury. The data represents 7.14 million rider-only miles, and is compared to a baseline of how commonly human drivers get into crashes in the same area.
Currently, Waymo covers parts of San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Crash rates varied by location, with San Francisco having the highest rate of human-driven crashes at 5.55 per million miles.
Waymo put additional effort into figuring out exactly what the benchmark crash rates should be in each area, releasing a study about these calculations specifically.
One correction that Waymo included was crash underreporting by human drivers, where smaller crashes that don’t include injury often go unreported to the police. Waymo said that “in contrast, autonomous vehicle companies report even the most minor crashes in order to demonstrate the trustworthiness of autonomous driving on public roads” (perhaps a dig at AV competitor Cruise, who were recently caught hiding information from California regulators).
Also, road type is important, as Waymo only operates on surface streets and not highways. Highways tend to have fewer accidents than surface streets because they are less complex.
When breaking down the comparison by location, Waymo’s data shows that it’s up to 10x less likely to cause injury than human drivers (in San Francisco), but with large reductions in all cases.
Los Angeles is not included in this breakdown due to the small number of miles that Waymo has driven in LA – it’s currently only there in a preliminary capacity, and you can read our experience riding it in Venice here.
Waymo released this report just a day after another report from LendingTree which claims that Tesla drivers have the highest accident rate, in seeming contrast to Tesla’s own released data claiming that Autopilot is much safer than human drivers (though, if Autopilot-driven miles are a small enough proportion of total miles, these statements can both be true at the same time – or if Tesla drivers are phenomenally more crash-prone, which seems unlikely).
Tesla used to release its Autopilot safety data on a quarterly basis, but stopped about a year ago. The data and methodology of Tesla’s releases were much less robust than the study that Waymo has released, but both should be taken with a grain of salt since both were released by the companies themselves, who have an obvious incentive to present data in the best light possible for themselves.
Waymo previously released a report claiming 100% reduction in bodily injury, but that report only covered data until August 1, 2023. Waymo has since reported three accidents including bodily injury to the NHTSA – one each in August, September and November of this year. The previous report was done in conjunction with Swiss Re, a large insurance company.
You can click on through to read Waymo’s full study or its blog about the study.
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Global offshore wind targets are still strong enough to triple global capacity by 2030, despite the US’s offshore wind stagnation under Trump. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember and the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) shows that the rest of the world is charging forward, underscoring confidence in offshore wind as a cornerstone of future clean energy systems.
Based on the latest NHTSA report, Tesla’s ‘Robotaxis’ keep crashing in Austin, Texas, despite ‘safety monitors’ preventing an unknown number of crashes.
Under an NHTSA Standing General Order SGO, automakers are required to report crashes involving their autonomous driving (ADS) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) within five days of being notified of them.
For years, Tesla was only reporting ADAS crashes, since, despite the names of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, they are only considered level 2 driver assistance systems.
Since the launch of the Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, where Tesla moved the supervisor from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, it has now reported its first few crashes under the ADS reporting.
In the first month of operation in July, Tesla reported three crashes with its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin.
This week, NHTSA has updated its crash report and revealed a 4th crash that happened in September:
| Report ID | Incident Date | Incident Time (24:00) | Make | Model | Model Year | Automation System Engaged? | Highest Injury Severity Alleged | Crash With | Roadway Type | Weather |
| 13781-11687 | SEP-2025 | 01:25 | TESLA | Model Y | 2026 | ADS | Property Damage. No Injured Reported | Other Fixed Object | Parking Lot | Partly Cloudy |
As we previously highlighted, when it comes to both ADS and ADAS crash reporting, Tesla abuses the redacting capacity and hides most information about its crashes, unlike most of its competitors.
Therefore, we don’t have much information about this new crash, but it reportedly occurred in a parking lot and involved a Tesla Robotaxi crashing into a “fixed object,” resulting in property damage.
What’s most interesting about this crash is that it comes as Tesla released the first bit of data about its Robotaxi program in Austin.
During its earnings call last week, Tesla confirmed that the Robotaxi fleet has traveled 250,000 miles since its launch in late June.
Therefore, Tesla Robotaxi currently crashes at a rate of about once every 62,500 miles. That’s with a safety monitor with a finger on a kill switch, ready to stop the vehicle at all times.
We have no data on how often Tesla’s safety monitors prevent crashes in its robotaxis.
For comparison, the NHTSA report lists 1,267 crashes involving Waymo vehicles. However, Waymo’s robotaxis have covered over 125 million fully driverless miles since inception. That’s a crash every 98,600 miles and without any onboard safety monitor.
Electrek’s Take
That’s the problem with comparing Tesla and Waymo.
At least we can now clearly see that Waymo’s incident rate is much lower than Tesla’s, but that’s with a safety monitor in Tesla robotaxis that prevents an untold number of crashes.
The actual difference could be 10x higher. We simply don’t know. Tesla has always refused to share any data regarding disengagement or intervention rates.
One thing is clear: Tesla is way behind Waymo in autonomous driving safety.
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The electric hot hatch is more than just a show car, Subaru says it offers capabilities only possible with a battery EV.
Subaru unveils new electric STI hot hatch
It’s been quiet on the STI front since Subaru dropped the gas-powered WRX STI in 2022. However, that may change very soon.
The WRX STI was axed due to stricter emissions regulations in Europe, leading many to believe it would be replaced with an electric version. Subaru even said it was looking into opportunities for a next-gen STI version, including an electrified model, but said it would not be built on the new WRX platform.
Now, we are getting our first look at the future of STI. Subaru unveiled two new STI vehicles at the Japan Mobility Show on Wednesday, one a battery-electric (BEV) model and the other a gas-powered model.
Subaru said the EV variant, dubbed the Performance-E STI concept, “represents the future of the Performance Scene, spearheading Subaru’s new generation.”
The electric hot hatch still features a design that “evokes the brand’s heritage,” but with a bit more flair. Unlike the gas version, the Performance-B STI, the EV debuts a new three-line LED headlight design and sportier silhouette.
According to Subaru, the electric STI is “not just a show car,” it can also be used as a daily driver. The aim was to create a performance car that “would inspire everyday life,” Subaru said, adding that “this packaging is only possible with a battery EV.”
The electric hot hatch is equipped with a cylindrical battery, which offers a lower center of gravity and opens up interior space.
Subaru said the setup results in a 15% lower center of gravity than on its previous vehicles. By optimizing downforce and air resistance, the company claims it will outperform the current Subaru Global Platform.
The electric hot hatch also features a new “next-generation suspension” that lowers the hood height by more than 5% while improving control and responsiveness.
Subaru didn’t reveal any other specifics, but said that it will incorporate “innovative technologies” to offer an intuitive, exhilarating driving experience.
Will we see the electric hot hatch actually come to life? Subaru didn’t confirm it was headed for production, but said it represents the future and spearheads a new generation. When and if we will see an electric Subaru STI remains up in the air for now.
Subaru isn’t the only one jumping into the electric hot hatch craze. Honda revealed the Super-ONE at the Japan Mobility Show today, a compact EV that’s packed with fun features.
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