Waymo has released a study proving greater safety for its unmanned cars

Waymo, a company that develops technology for unmanned cars, has unveiled a peer-reviewed study comparing the accident rates of its cars and driverless cars.

Here's What We Know

According to the study, Waymo's robot taxis have a crash rate nearly seven times lower than conventional cars. They are six times less likely to be involved in an accident per 1 million miles travelled. This indicates the greater safety of unmanned vehicles.

The study included data on 1.76 million miles travelled by Waymo robot taxis in autonomous mode in San Francisco, and about 5.4 million miles in other cities. Nationwide driving rates for humans were used for comparison.

Experts note that the comparison is complicated by differences in how accidents are recorded in different regions. Nevertheless, they estimate that the results demonstrate the safety benefits of Waymo's technology.

The company hopes that the published data will help convince the public and regulators of the reliability of its developments. This is important for the further expansion of the unmanned taxi business.

Source: SFirst