Whereas the general public at massive stays petrified of driverless vehicles, Waymo has been racking up rides at a price of over a million per 30 days. Nonetheless, the autonomous taxis haven’t got a pristine security document. Regardless of the shenanigans that these Jaguar I-Paces can rise up to, a latest evaluation of crash information that Waymo is legally required to submit reveals that folks, each drivers and pedestrians, are at fault in most incidents involving the corporate’s driverless taxis.
Waymo reported its automobiles have been in 38 crashes between July 2024 and February 2025, in keeping with Ars Technica. The stories paint an image that 34 of these incidents have been the fault of another person. Usually, the corporate submits information for all crashes extreme sufficient to deploy an airbag or trigger an alleged harm. The driverless taxis have been stationary and hit 16 instances. One other seven crashes have been brought on by drivers rear-ending a cab. Unsurprisingly, three incidents contain a Waymo passenger opening a door right into a shifting automobile or bicycle owner.
Sure, most of us are nonetheless afraid of Waymo
What in regards to the 4 incidents that Waymo may very well be deemed at fault? In three of the crashes, one other car made a left flip into the driverless taxi’s path. Timothy B. Lee wrote for Ars Technica, “Waymo’s summaries make it sound like the opposite automobile was at fault in all three instances, however I do not really feel like I’ve sufficient data to make a particular judgment.” It is a totally different story in our last incident. A Waymo car pushing a plastic crate into the trail of a scooter final December in Los Angeles.
The info may present that we’re extra of a risk to driverless taxis, however they don’t seem to be flawless machines and we cannot overlook that. Viral moments from final 12 months, like seeing a Waymo car loop aimlessly round an Arizona roundabout or honking at one another in a San Francisco car parking zone, sow the seeds of doubt on the capabilities of those taxis. Within the 2025 version of AAA’s annual survey on autonomous automobiles, 61 p.c of respondents acknowledged that they have been afraid of self-driving vehicles. That is a noticeable lower in comparison with the final two years, although. That determine was at 68 p.c in 2023 and 66 p.c in 2024. The general public is slowly warming to autonomous automobiles, however we’re nonetheless removed from full acceptance.
