Waymo’s vehicles have driven a total of 6.1 million miles in Phoenix, Arizona, where it first started testing its self-driving technology. That’s merely one of the many, many things the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company has revealed in an in-depth report that details its activities in the Phoenix metro area. Apparently, 65,000 miles of that overall total were accomplished with no human driver behind the wheel. Also, from 2019 up until the first nine months of 2020, Waymo’s vehicles were involved in 18 minor accidents and 29 situations wherein the human driver had to seize control to avoid potential collisions.
The company’s vehicles were involved 16 rear-enders, eight of which were caused by other drivers crashing into them while they’re stopped or gradually decelerating for traffic ahead. Five of those events were caused by other drivers crashing into the vehicles while they’re slowing down to turn. Waymo was the striking vehicle in only one instance, wherein another vehicle swerved into the lane in front of it and hit the brakes hard.