Self-driving cars aren’t perfect, but new safety data suggests they may be far better than many humans behind the wheel.
A deep dive into Waymo’s newly released safety data, covering nearly 100 million driverless miles by mid-2025, presents a compelling case for autonomous vehicles as a public health breakthrough.
Dr. Jonathan Slotkin, a neurosurgeon, spent weeks analyzing the data and found that “Waymo’s self-driving cars were involved in 91% fewer serious-injury-or-worse crashes and 80% fewer crashes causing any injury” when compared to human drivers on the same roads. This dramatic difference has led Dr. Slotkin to argue for the broader adoption of the technology.
In an opinion essay for The New York Times, Dr. Slotkin underscored the severity of the human toll from conventional driving, noting that over 39,000 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes last year. He frames the Waymo findings not as a mere tech story, but as an urgent medical imperative.
“In medical research, there’s a practice of ending a study early when the results are too striking to ignore,” wrote Dr. Slotkin. “We also stop for overwhelming benefit, when a treatment is working so well that it would be unethical to continue giving anyone a placebo.”
The data also showed a 96% lower rate of injury-causing crashes at intersections — “some of the deadliest I encounter in the trauma bay,” Dr. Slotkin said. The inherent safety of autonomous vehicles, he argues, stems from their ability to follow rules, avoid distractions, and see in all directions.
A shifting driving style: Assertive or reckless?
While the statistics on serious crashes are overwhelmingly positive, the driving behavior of Waymo vehicles is transforming, raising questions about whether they are sacrificing caution for efficiency.
After years of being known as overly polite, Waymo robotaxis are now reportedly acting more “confidently assertive” in city environments like San Francisco. The Wall Street Journal reported on a series of incidents, including cars performing simultaneous lane changes in a tunnel and an illegal U-turn in San Bruno, California, that led to a police stop.
Waymo’s senior director of product management, Chris Ludwick, confirmed the company is trying to make the cars more assertive, saying this change was “really necessary for us to actually scale this up in San Francisco, especially because of how busy it gets.”
The company maintains that its cars are still designed to respect the rules of the road, but they must make common-sense trade-offs, like briefly crossing a double yellow line to avoid obstructing traffic.
The furry victims: Animal collisions fuel community alarm
The push for more human-like driving is fueling an emotional debate over the safety of Waymo’s driverless taxis in San Francisco, particularly following two high-profile animal collisions.
In October, a widely known neighborhood cat named KitKat was tragically run over and killed by a Waymo vehicle. Weeks later, a self-driving Waymo taxi struck a small, unleashed dog in the Western Addition neighborhood. A passenger in the car at the time posted about the incident on Reddit, stating, “Our Waymo just ran over a dog. Trying to call customer support. Called the police. Crowd is gathering not sure what to do.”
“Unfortunately, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a small, unleashed dog in the roadway,” a Waymo spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement.
The animal incidents have triggered local protests and demands for tighter regulation. San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder responded by urging California lawmakers to allow residents to vote on whether autonomous cars can operate in their communities.
Despite the animal fatalities, Waymo noted that the company’s vehicles have a “much lower rate of injury-causing collisions than human drivers,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
A technology advancing faster than its public acceptance
Given that motor vehicle crashes represent a massive annual economic and quality-of-life toll, Dr. Slotkin argues that policymakers must move past simple resistance and begin planning for a future with more autonomous vehicles.
He advocates for federal leadership to implement independent data verification and more comprehensive data reporting requirements, including crash rates and miles driven, to guide a safe transition.
Also read: Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxi fleet hits city-wide breakeven in Guangzhou as Q3 2025 revenue jumps 72% and a Hong Kong IPO fuels a 3,000-plus vehicle expansion plan.