Insurance Data Validates Waymo’s Autonomous Car Safety Claims

Waymo is using insurance data to make the case that its self-driving cars are safer than human drivers. The report, a result of the collaboration first announced last year between the Alphabet-owned company and the insurer Swiss Re, is intended to show how driverless vehicles crash less often and damage less property than human-driven vehicles.

Waymo’s data comes at a time of increased scrutiny of self-driving vehicles after California regulators voted to dramatically expand the ability of robotaxi companies to operate in San Francisco despite warnings from city officials about driverless vehicles blocking roads and delaying emergency responders.

The study compares Waymo’s liability claims data with those claims filed by human drivers calibrated by mileage and zip code. Based on Swiss Re’s data from over 600,000 claims and over 125 billion miles, ‘these baselines are extremely robust and highly significant,’ Waymo says.