Autonomous cars “have fewer accidents”
Waymo, the autonomous robotaxi service, claims its vehicles are involved in 80% fewer injury-causing accidents than human-driven cars, as the use of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) gains momentum in the U.S.
ANY INJURY
All areas, incidents per million miles
Human drivers
Waymo
3.96
0.8
AV operators must report any physical contact resulting in property damage, injury or fatality. Human crash data only requires enough damage for police to file collision report 
AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT
1.65
0.35
SERIOUS INJURY
0.23
0.02
Unreported incidents (human drivers)
Property damage
Injury
60%
32%
Unreported
AV HEAD-TO-HEAD
Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi service now going head-to-head in San Francisco
Sensors: Unlike Tesla which relies on cameras, both combine LiDAR, cameras and radar
ZOOX
Bidirectional driving: Vehicle can change directions without reversing
Cabin: Holds four passengers. Touch screen for climate control, music, door opening
WAYMO
Vehicle: Mainly retrofitted Jaguars
Safety: Backed by huge amount of custom map data
Sources: Waymo, NHTSA, New York Times
Picture: Getty Images
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