Very often you can read in the media (especially in the USA) some news about accidents involving autonomous cars, and the opinions on the matter are for all tastes.
That is why I consider it important to use data that are as objective as possible to be able to compare autonomous cars and cars driven by people.
And that's what Waymo did not long ago. Waymo operates its autonomous cars in some US cities, and in three of them (San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles) it has already traveled 7.1 million miles, and has proceeded to publish data on the accidents its cars have had, and compared them to what happened in cars driven by people.
As a summary, they indicate that their cars have had 85% fewer accidents than those driven by people. And we must keep in mind that companies that operate autonomous cars are obliged to report any minor “accident”, no matter how small, something that drivers do not do.
I consider that the information is very appropriate at this time when Cruise cars have been taken off the road after having an accident with a pedestrian, and criticism of autonomous cars has increased.
Waymo has been working on this issue for more than 10 years, it has been investing a lot of money, and I believe that its cars are much safer than those driven by people, and now they show us this with data.
Simply put, an autonomous car is a powerful computer with wheels and sensors to detect and analyze the outside world. And that system does not drink alcohol, does not get tired, does not get distracted, does not make mistakes due to slip ups, etc…. like humans. Then it has serious possibilities of being able to do it better than a human, and almost everything depends on the “program” that manages it.
Autonomous cars are very far from “being good for everything” due to the many unexpected incidents that can occur on a road, but they can have applications in limited city environments, and thus contribute to global traffic safety.
In addition, part of its driving programs can be applied in cars with a driver, to generate “aids” for driving, and make it safer as well.
Technology is meant to be used sensibly and prudently, and we see that driving aids are already being used in many car models, even in some mid-range ones.
In general I am not opposed to the new things that technology brings us, and what we have to do is use our intelligence to use it for the benefit of the majority.
Since its inception, Waymo has placed a lot of emphasis on the safety of its autonomous vehicles, and it seems to be giving positive results. What I don't know is when the company will start making money.
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