Study shows Waymo’s robotaxi platform provides significantly higher safety performance than human drivers
There are still many questions surrounding the plausibility of full-fledged autonomous robotaxi operations around the world, but Waymo, one of the current leaders in the segment, is putting at least one stigma to rest. A new study conducted with the help of reinsurance provider Swiss Re used hundreds of thousands of liability claims to demonstrate that robotaxi vehicles using the Waymo Driver platform deliver significantly higher safety performance than vehicles operated by a human driver.
Much of the world is still not completely sold on robotaxis. Some local residents have revolted against the sustainable, autonomous technology, using an orange cone as their symbol of opposition.
That said, Waymo remains confident in that exciting future of mobility and is trekking forward in its operations while others falter. This year alone, we’ve seen Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., expand its robotaxi footprint in the US alongside news of expansions to new roads in other countries like Tokyo.
While the presence of EVs operated by the Waymo Driver platform continues to grow, the average person still has many fears about getting in a robotaxi without a driver. It’s human nature to believe you can perform certain tasks better than a computer, and sometimes, that’s correct.
However, when it comes to the processing power and vision capabilities of many robotaxis being tested today, it’s often not the case. In terms of a new data study presented by Waymo and Swiss Re, the results are not even close. Waymo robotaxi vehicles deliver undeniably better safety performance than the most high-tech vehicles operated by human drivers on the road today.
Waymo’s robotaxi delivers better safety, less damage
Waymo shared data-driven evidence of the safety advantages of its autonomous robotaxi technology in a blog post today. The study was conducted with the help of Swiss Re, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, which analyzed collision-related liability claims from 25.3 million fully autonomous miles driven by Waymo.
The study uses auto liability claims aggregate statistics as a proxy for at-fault collisions to determine overall safety performance, expanding previous research published by Waymo. Swiss Re compared Waymo’s liability claims to human driver baselines based on its internal data from over 500,000 claims and over 200 billion miles of exposure.
Swiss Re concluded that robotaxi vehicles with Waymo Driver demonstrated better safety performance compared to human-driven vehicles, achieving an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims.
To put things in a real-world perspective, during the 25.3 million miles Waymo Driver has traversed, its robotaxis were only involved in nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims (both bodily injury claims are still open).
For the same distance, human drivers would be expected to have 78 property damage and 26 bodily injury claims.
Even compared to newer vehicles (2018-2021 models) equipped with more robust advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like automated emergency braking, forward collision warning, and lane-keeping assistance, Waymo still shined. Swiss Re’s data found that Waymo Driver showed an 86% reduction in property damage claims and a 90% reduction in bodily injury claims. Waymo’s chief safety officer Mauricio Peña elaborated:
Auto insurance claims data, traditionally used to assess human driver liability and risk, is a powerful tool in evaluating the safety performance of autonomous vehicles. This is a truly groundbreaking study that not only validates the Waymo Driver’s strong safety record, but also provides a scalable framework for ongoing assessment of the impact autonomous vehicles make on road safety.
It’s hard to deny Waymo’s safety record to date when you combine the Swiss Re study with the robotaxi developer’s own safety impact data. That study explains that over 25 million fully autonomous miles, Waymo Driver had fewer serious collisions than human drivers, independent of who was at fault.
Furthermore, the Swiss Re study provides clear evidence that Waymo had zero responsibility in a large majority of the collisions its robotaxi vehicles were involved in.
Waymo and other robotaxi developers have a long road ahead of them to win the general public over to enable widespread operations, but safety should not be the inhibitor to someone not wanting to take a ride in one. Similar to EV adoption as a whole, a lack of education and understanding remains a huge hurdle for widespread adoption, but the data doesn’t lie.
Sure, there will still be collisions, and occasionally the robotaxi may be at fault, but those numbers will continue to pale in comparison to those of a vehicle operated by a human.
Waymo told Electrek there was no payment issued by either party for this study and it was purely a research partnership. The paper has been submitted to a scientific journal, and the pre-print is available here.
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The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership are turning former Appalachian coal mines into clean energy hubs. They just announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to build 14 solar farms and three battery storage systems across 360 acres in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
This marks the second round of clean energy projects launched under TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project.
These projects aren’t just about clean energy – they’re about proving that clean energy can be developed on former Appalachian coal mines in a way that benefits the environment and local communities. The solar and storage hubs are expected to bring in more local tax revenue, create short-term construction jobs, and establish a community fund to support additional local initiatives.
Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director, said, “Developing projects on former coal mines – and in a way that engages with people in the local area so that communities can benefit – takes ingenuity, skill, and determination. Ultimately, we selected Sun Tribe and ENGIE, two experienced developers that have a great interest in bringing this vision to life.”
Once online, these projects will generate around 49 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and 320 MW of battery storage – enough to power 6,638 Appalachian homes annually.
Sun Tribe’s projects will be in Virginia and Tennessee. It’s planning one 5 MW solar project and three utility-scale battery storage systems ranging from 80 MW to 150 MW. These storage projects will improve grid reliability and help cut costs for utility customers by reducing the need for future grid upgrades.
“Locating solar and battery storage on former mine lands makes perfect sense to us,” said Danny Van Clief, CEO of Sun Tribe Development. “These sites and the communities they rest within have powered our country for more than a century – all we have to do is reimagine them for today’s energy technology.”
ENGIE, meanwhile, is developing 13 community-scale solar projects across Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky that will take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act incentives to help keep costs down. They’ll range in size from 1 MW to 6 MW, bringing clean energy access to more local communities.
“ENGIE is thrilled to collaborate on the development of these projects with The Nature Conservancy,” says Kristen Fornes, ENGIE head of distributed solar and storage. “These initiatives not only contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions but also generate employment opportunities, rejuvenate local communities, and enhance access to clean energy in areas where it is most needed.”
This latest announcement builds on previous first-round work by TNC, Sun Tribe, and Dominion Energy to bring renewable energy to Appalachia. Since 2021, Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy have been working on plans to generate 140 MW of renewable energy across eight sites in the Cumberland Forest. The first project, Wildcats Solar, is a 10 MW array planned for Wise County, Virginia. Expected to start construction by 2026, it’s projected to generate $800,000 in tax revenue for the community over its lifetime. Additional projects from the first round are set to be online by 2029.
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
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The US State Department’s procurement forecast for the 2025 budget includes an item called “Armored Teslas” worth $400 million.
But worry not; it was approved under the Biden Administration, so Elon Musk’s DOGE will undoubtedly eliminate this waste. Right?
Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are currently examining a large amount of US government spending.
It’s unclear if he got to the US State Department’s procurement forecast because there are a few interesting lines that would give auditors second thoughts.
The most interesting one is “Armored Tesla (Production Units)”, which is worth $400 million. Strangely, the item is listed under the NAICS code “311999 – All Other Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing.”
The program has a target for delivery in Q4 through the next 5 years.
There are several other similar and strange budgeted items that are linked to the wrong categories:
You have “ARMORED SEDAN” under “Soft Drink Manufacturing,” “ARMORED BMW X5/X7” under “Bottled Water Manufacturing,” and finally, ARMORED EV (NOT SEDAN) under “Ice Manufacturing.”
However, all these other armored vehicle-related items are budgeted at a fraction of the $400 million for Tesla vehicles ($50 million, $40 million, and $40 million, respectively).
The State Department procurement forecast website mentions that the list was last updated in December – before Trump entered office.
Electrek has contacted the State Department for a comment, and we will update you if we get an answer.
Tesla has claimed that its Cybertruck is “armored” and “bulletproof”, but its armored capacity is quite limited. It can likely deflect low-velocity bullets if they hit the doors, but that’s about it.
Other companies have been planning to modify the Cybertruck with higher levels of armor, like the partnership between Unplugged Performance and Archimedes Defense – pictured above.
Electrek’s Take
I am not against armored electric vehicles. If you need armored vehicles, you might as well make them electric.
However, this is certainly weird. Why does the State Department need $530 million worth of armored vehicles? And why is it listed under a bunch of unrelated categories that don’t make sense?
Sounds like a job for DOGE? However, Elon will need to recuse himself from that one, I guess.
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