Waymo, a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, has shared updated safety data, revealing that its self-driving cars have now driven 271 million miles without a human driver across five U.S. cities by the end of June. That’s an increase of 50 million miles from its last report. If each person in the U.S. drove an average of 850,000 miles in their lifetime, the total distance covered by Waymo’s vehicles would be equivalent to over 300 human lifetimes. The company plans to update its online safety hub with the new figures soon. The data highlights a significant drop in incidents involving injuries. Waymo reported an 82 percent reduction in injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers, with even greater reductions in more severe injuries. Specifically, there were 95 percent fewer crashes causing serious injury or worse, 93 percent fewer pedestrian injuries, and similar reductions in cyclist and motorcycle injuries. These improvements are attributed to advanced sensors and automated decision-making systems that can react faster than human drivers. Waymo currently operates nearly 4,000 autonomous vehicles in over 10 U.S. cities, logging about 2 million driverless miles each week. These vehicles also provide over 500,000 paid rides weekly. However, some major cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C., have not yet approved Waymo’s operations, citing concerns about traffic congestion and potential job losses in the transportation sector. A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that per mile driven, Waymo’s autonomous vehicles were involved in 68 percent fewer crashes than human drivers. However, IIHS President David Harkey noted that the current data collection methods are not sufficient for monitoring large-scale operations effectively. Additionally, Waymo must report all crashes—defined as any physical contact with another vehicle, person, or property—to the federal government under a 2021 rule. Between March and September 2026, its vehicles were involved in 797 crashes. One of these resulted in a fatality, though it was caused by a human driver who struck a pedestrian, and the pedestrian then collided with a Waymo vehicle. Some experts caution that relying solely on Waymo’s self-reported data may not provide a complete picture of the safety of autonomous vehicles. They argue that the lack of industry-wide standards makes it difficult to compare data across companies. Critics also point out that comparing highly advanced autonomous vehicles to average human-driven cars—many of which may be older or driven by distracted individuals—primarily highlights the effectiveness of advanced safety features like emergency braking and sensors, rather than proving the superiority of autonomous software. Safety experts like Phil Koopman from Carnegie Mellon University suggest that companies like Waymo might use their safety dashboards more as public relations tools, potentially downplaying rare but significant incidents or challenges like traffic congestion.