Waymo, Alphabet, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) autonomous driving system subsidiary, released a new research report last week showing that Waymo's autonomous vehicles outperform human-driven vehicles in terms of safety.
The Details: Waymo partnered with Swiss Re, a leading reinsurer, to analyze insurance industry third-party auto liability claims from 25.3 million miles of fully autonomous driving. The report showed a substantial safety improvement over its previous 3.8-million-mile study which "not only validates ADS safety at scale but also provides a new approach for ongoing ADS evaluation," the report stated.
Waymo vehicles demonstrated an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims compared to human drivers. The report revealed only nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims involving Waymo vehicles, while human drivers would have been expected to generate 78 and 26 such claims, respectively.
Against newer vehicles equipped with ADAS features like automated emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance, Waymo showed an 86% reduction in property damage claims and a 90% reduction in bodily injury claims.
"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," said Mauricio Peña, chief safety officer at Waymo.
"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," Peña added.
Why It Matters: The safety of autonomous vehicles is under intense scrutiny as automakers push to advance the technology and regulators work to ensure new frameworks and ensure safety on the roadways.
Waymo is involved in an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched in May 2024 due to concerns about the performance and safety of Waymo's self-driving vehicles. The company also recently announced plans to expand its robotaxi service to Tokyo and Miami in 2026.
Earlier this month, General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) shuttered its autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise, following a serious accident in October 2023. GM said it intends to combine its majority-owned Cruise and GM technical teams into a single team working on advancing autonomous and assisted driving for personal vehicles rather than robotaxis.
Waymo、Alphabet, Inc. 's（纳斯达克股票代码：GOOG）（纳斯达克股票代码：GOOGL）自动驾驶系统的子公司上周发布了一份新的研究报告，显示Waymo的自动驾驶汽车在安全性方面的表现优于人类驾驶汽车。
详情：Waymo与领先的再保险公司瑞士再保险合作，分析了2530万英里全自动驾驶中保险行业的第三方汽车责任索赔。报告称，该报告显示，与之前的380万英里研究相比，安全性有了显著改善，该研究 “不仅大规模验证了ADS的安全性，还为正在进行的ADS评估提供了一种新的方法”。
与人类驾驶员相比，Waymo车辆的财产损失索赔减少了88％，人身伤害索赔减少了92％。该报告显示，只有九项财产损失索赔和两项涉及Waymo车辆的人身伤害索赔，而人类司机预计将分别提出78和26项此类索赔。
与配备自动紧急制动和车道保持辅助系统等ADAS功能的新车辆相比，Waymo的财产损失索赔减少了86％，人身伤害索赔减少了90％。
Waymo首席安全官毛里西奥·佩纳表示：“汽车保险索赔数据传统上用于评估人类驾驶员的责任和风险，是评估自动驾驶汽车安全性能的有力工具。”
佩纳补充说：“这是一项真正具有开创性的研究，不仅验证了Waymo Driver的良好安全记录，而且还为持续评估自动驾驶汽车对道路安全的影响提供了可扩展的框架。”
为何重要：随着汽车制造商推动技术的发展，自动驾驶汽车的安全受到严格审查，监管机构也在努力确保新框架并确保道路安全。
由于担心Waymo的自动驾驶车辆的性能和安全，Waymo参与了美国国家公路交通安全管理局于2024年5月启动的一项调查。该公司最近还宣布计划在2026年将其机器人出租车服务扩展到东京和迈阿密。
本月早些时候，通用汽车公司纽约证券交易所代码：GM）在2023年10月发生严重事故后关闭了其自动驾驶汽车部门Cruise。通用汽车表示，它打算将其控股的Cruise和Gm技术团队合并为一个团队，致力于推进个人车辆而不是机器人出租车的自动驾驶和辅助驾驶。
