ORLANDO, Fla. — A new study suggests driverless cars could be safer than human drivers, as autonomous technology continues to expand in cities like Orlando.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that Waymo robotaxis were involved in 68% fewer crashes reported to law enforcement than human-driven vehicles. Researchers analyzed crash data from San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin—cities where Waymo currently operates.
Waymo remains the only major robotaxi company publicly releasing driverless mileage data, giving researchers a clearer picture of safety performance.
Despite the promising findings, experts say more oversight is needed as the technology grows.
“As they go to new cities that have different weather and traffic conditions, or as new players enter the game in a larger way, I think we need to ensure that we have the data systems in place to monitor these things quickly,” said IIHS researcher Wen Hu Teoh.
The study also highlights the need for stronger federal reporting standards to track crashes involving self-driving vehicles.
Waymo launched its driverless service in Orlando in February, marking Central Florida as one of the latest regions to test the rapidly evolving technology.
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