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A new study conducted by Swiss Re and Waymo reveals that the Waymo Driver demonstrates significantly safer performance than human-driven vehicles, including those equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The research analyzed liability claims data from 25.3 million autonomous miles driven by Waymo vehicles across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. This groundbreaking study highlights the potential of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to transform road safety.
Key Highlights
- Data Scope: The study used liability claims from Swiss Re’s extensive dataset, including over 500,000 claims and more than 200 billion human-driven miles.
- Waymo’s Safety Advantage: Across 25.3 million miles, Waymo vehicles reported only nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims, compared to an estimated 78 property damage and 26 bodily injury claims for human-driven vehicles.
- Impact on Advanced Vehicles: Even against newer vehicles (2018–2021 models) equipped with ADAS features, the Waymo Driver achieved an 86% reduction in property damage claims and a 90% reduction in bodily injury claims.
- Broad Implications: The study demonstrates how insurance data can be used to evaluate the safety performance of AVs and promote broader adoption of this technology.
The research further supports findings from Waymo’s own safety impact data, showing that fully autonomous miles result in significantly fewer serious collisions compared to human-driven miles.
Mauricio Peña, Chief Safety Officer at Waymo, emphasized, “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.”
Ali Shahkarami, Global Head P&C Solutions at Swiss Re, added, “Our research shows how insurance data can help evaluate autonomous vehicle safety and provide the framework needed to support widespread adoption.”
The study also received praise from industry leaders. Chris Moore, President of Apollo ibott, noted, “This particular report provided a staggering benchmark in a 90% lower claims frequency compared to human driving of newer vehicles with the most advanced driving assistance technology.”
By publishing these findings, Waymo continues its commitment to transparency and advancing public acceptance of autonomous vehicles. The full pre-print of the study has been submitted to a scientific journal and is now publicly available.
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