Waymo, a company owned by Alphabet (the parent company of Google), has reported that its autonomous taxis have driven over 271 million miles without a human driver, which is about 437 million kilometers. During this time, its vehicles have been involved in 841 fewer injuries than human drivers over the same distance. This is the first time the company has translated its safety data into a comparison of accidents avoided, and the results show significant differences, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. Waymo operates more than 4,000 autonomous taxis in 15 American cities, including Las Vegas, where it recently launched its service. According to an update released last week, the company’s vehicles have traveled 271.3 million miles in fully autonomous mode by the end of June 2026. Of this, 50 million miles were added since the previous update in March. However, these figures are based only on urban streets, and their reliability depends on how accurately the company estimates what human drivers would have done in those situations. Waymo calculated the number of injuries avoided in five major metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In these areas, its autonomous taxis have been involved in 82 percent fewer injuries than human drivers, regardless of who was at fault. The company estimates that at least 841 people have avoided injury, and this distance is equivalent to more than 300 lifetimes of driving. For serious or fatal accidents, the difference is even greater, with 20 times fewer occurrences. At intersections, the injury rate is 96 percent lower, and for pedestrians, the difference is 93 percent fewer injuries compared to human drivers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a research group for American automobile insurers, has cross-checked some of Waymo’s data. In a study published in July 2024, the IIHS found a 68 percent lower accident rate in Waymo’s autonomous vehicles compared to human drivers over 50 million miles driven in autonomous mode between 2021 and 2024. However, the study also noted that in Austin, autonomous vehicles had a 4 percent higher accident rate. Despite this, the IIHS president, David Harkey, said the results suggest that, on a limited scale, driverless cars are safer than human drivers, who may be impaired, drowsy, or inattentive. Waymo’s data is based on police reports and the distances traveled in its service areas, with a 32 percent correction for physical injuries. The company reports every incident to the federal highway safety agency (NHTSA), while human drivers may not always report minor accidents. Waymo’s vehicles only operate in cities and often run empty between rides, which means the company has not yet accumulated enough miles to isolate only fatal accidents in its statistics. In Munich, where Waymo plans to launch its service by the end of 2027, its vehicles will initially operate with a safety driver on board.