Autonomous vehicles are here to stay, and if you are like most people and don’t know how to feel about them, these self driving cars statistics will help you decide if you love or hate them.
More and more companies are joining the race to build the ultimate autonomous vehicle (AV).
Although they are still in test phases, the odds are that we will be seeing them more in the future.
So, you will have to get used to seeing driverless cars around, as eerie as it may sound.
Important Self Driving Cars Statistics (Editor’s Picks)
- Only 12% of people in the US would feel safe taking a ride in a self-driving car
- Self-driving vehicles could save up to 50 minutes used to spend driving daily
- In California, there are over 35 companies with 676 autonomous vehicles
- Compared to Uber, Google’s Waymo has 28,000 lower disengagement rates
- Waymo cars didn’t have any single-vehicle accidents in over 6 million miles covered
- Research notes that a group of driverless vehicles may improve traffic flow by 35%
- Over 50% of people in the US are comfortable with these vehicles delivering groceries
- As per estimates, current driverless cars won’t avoid 66% of most common accidents
Interesting Self Driving Cars Safety Statistics
1. 43% of people with disabilities believe that autonomous vehicles’ advantages overshadow the disadvantages, while only 34% of people without disabilities feel the same way.
(PAVE)
It’s quite understandable since automated vehicles would enable them the mobility they could’ve only dreamed about a couple of years ago. This would also help them feel more independent, thus improving their quality of life.
2. Only 12% of American drivers would feel safe riding in a self driving car.
(AAA)
Although autonomous vehicle technology is continually evolving, only one in ten American drivers would feel safe riding in a fully autonomous vehicle, the latest AAA research shows. Furthermore, 72% would feel safer if they could take control at any moment, and 68% stated that a backup human driver would be a good idea.
3. More than half of Americans are comfortable with automated vehicles delivering groceries.
(AAA)
The statistics on self driving cars show that 53% of people wouldn’t mind AI (artificial intelligence) vehicles being in charge of low-speed and short-distance transport like people movers in airports and theme parks. Also, about 44% of people are okay with their groceries and packages delivered by self-driving vehicles. But only 20% would allow their families to be transported by these vehicles.
4. Approximately 94% of all vehicle crashes are caused by human error. Therefore, automated vehicles are expected to reduce overall traffic incidents by eliminating the human factor.
(NHTSA)
Besides saving lives, the benefits of self-driving cars include enormous savings in the economy. For example, as a result of traffic injuries in 2010, we have spent more than $242 billion in reduced economic activity and $594 billion due to loss of life and reduced quality of life.
5. NHTSA concluded that current driverless cars wouldn’t be able to avoid almost two-thirds of the most common accidents.
(IIHS)
Although we put a lot of faith in the future of self-driving cars, the facts may be telling us a different story. NHTSA stated that even though AI drives much better than us at reduced visibility, has shorter response time, etc., it cannot predict events. For instance, people would choose not to overtake a bicycle rider before a corner and slow down when they see people going near the pedestrian crossing.
Interesting Facts About Self Driving Cars and Their Benefits
6. Approximately 36% of Americans believe that improved road safety is the most significant benefit automated vehicles will bring.
(PAVE)
Furthermore, 45% think that AVs can save lives, while 36% are unsure. People are aware of the benefits the new technologies bring. And considering the current traffic fatality rates, they know how hard it is to see improvement.
7. Automated vehicles could free up to 50 minutes a day for average users. Moreover, they will be able to spend this traveling time any way they like.
(McKinsey & Company)
This is one of those autonomous vehicle statistics that brightens up our day and the online business managers’ too. The odds are, we will be spending those free minutes staring at our phones. That’s why the other part of the research concludes that online businesses will see a $6 billion revenue increase per year for every additional minute we spend online while in the car.
8. As per research, a group of driverless cars can enhance the flow of traffic by around 35%.
(Science Daily)
This is one of the driverless car statistics from research conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge. In detail, they programmed a fleet of model robotic cars and put them on a multi-lane track, noticing traffic flow changes once a vehicle stops.
Facts About Self Driving Car Accidents
Autonomous vehicles have been around for several years, but they are still a new technology that has to prove itself. And people are not that well informed about it.
Accidents involving AI cars get a lot of media attention, and the flashy headlines about killer robots on the streets do not help much in educating the public. Every time an incident involving AVs happens on the streets, it revives a public debate on self-driving cars pros and cons.
This can make us think that these accidents happen all the time. But could you imagine what your news feed would look like if we had media coverage for every fender bender humans caused?
9. DMV California stated that 36 companies with 676 vehicles drove a total of 2,880,612 miles and had 9,338 disengagements in 2019.
(DMV), (The Verge)
The term “disengagement” is used for occasions when a human driver has to take control to avoid some potentially dangerous situation. The lowest rate of disengagement was reported by Baidu, with one intervention every 18,050 miles. The self driving car statistics show that Google’s company Waymo had the second-best result, with 13,219 miles per disengagement. The average is one driver intervention per every 308 miles of autonomous drive.
10. Waymo reported no single-vehicle accidents in more than 6.1 million miles traveled.
(Waymo), (IIHS)
Waymo is Google’s subsidiary and a leading company in autonomous vehicle developments. Their autonomous cars statistics show their vehicles have traveled about 6.1 million miles in past years, without any single-vehicle accidents. Just to show you how important that is—53% of traffic fatalities in 2019 came from single-vehicle crashes.
11. Waymo autonomous vehicles had just 18 minor incidents per 6.1 million miles traveled.
(Waymo)
Waymo recently revealed how many self driving car accidents they have had—18 low-severity incidents in 6.1 million miles traveled. The result would be even better if it weren’t for humans’ unforeseeable actions. Namely, many of these incidents were other drivers’ fault, such as cars and bicycles hitting the AVs from the back. The other significant cause for incidents was that an AI was caught off guard when people committed traffic violations. One of the most surprising facts about driverless cars is that they assume the human drivers will do everything by the book.
12. Google’s Waymo had 28,000 lower disengagement rates than Uber.
(Statista)
Waymo had 0,09 disengagements per 1,000 miles, while Uber had 2600. It is so because Waymo is conducting its tests over a wide area, while Uber is more concentrated on urban areas with much denser traffic. In these circumstances, human drivers have to intervene more often.
13. Uber’s autonomous vehicle has caused one death.
(Waymo), (NBC)
There is no sufficient data to calculate the driverless car accident rate since the fatalities are calculated by 100 million miles traveled, and the autonomous vehicles haven’t traveled that much. The fatality rate in the US was 1.1 in 2019. To put things in perspective, Waymo, one of the industry leaders, traveled a total of 20 million miles by January of 2020. Uber just reports “millions of miles.” There was one unfortunate pedestrian death in March of 2018, caused by Uber’s autonomous vehicle. For now, we can say that due to this death, AVs have a worse fatality rate than humans.
Ways to Improve Self Driving Cars Statistics
14. BMW and Daimler are joining their forces and allocating more than 1,200 experts to speed up autonomous cars’ development.
(CNBC)
Although fierce competitors, the two automotive giants decided to join forces and, along with nine other companies, published a white paper on driverless technology called “Safety First for Automated Driving.” The main goal is to establish safety standards in the industry and improve self driving cars statistics.
15. NHTSA announced the expansion of its AV-TEST pilot initiative, and it now includes 52 companies, governments, and associations.
(NHTSA)
The program started in 2020 with nine participants, and this latest expansion should significantly improve and speed up the work on AV development and identification and collection of relevant data. This will all be available to the public on a daily updated dedicated webpage. It will go a long way in introducing the technology to the public, keeping them informed on the progress, advancement, safety implications, and positive facts about self-driving cars.
Conclusion
Autonomous vehicles are still uncharted territory, and we discover something new every day. And surprisingly, the more we find out about artificial intelligence, the more we find out about ourselves, and here’s why.
Self driving cars safety statistics show that most of the accidents happened because cars didn’t know how to react when people were violating traffic regulations. And we tend to do that a lot. Just take a look at the fatality numbers and their causes. Should we program cars to think like humans? But then that might imply they will act without thinking much.
However, the number of autonomous vehicles is constantly increasing, and pretty soon, we will have to share our roads with them. So it will be interesting to see how we will interact.
People Also Ask
How many accidents are caused by self driving cars?
There is no centralized national or international database about autonomous vehicles. However, California is one of the states that require companies to send their data. And their DMV stated that 676 vehicles from 36 companies traveled a total of 2,880,612 miles and recorded 9,338 disengagements in 2019. That makes an average of one driver intervention per every 308 miles of autonomous drive. Baidu had the lowest rate of disengagement, with one intervention every 18,050 miles.
How many fatalities have been due to self-driving vehicles?
Autonomous cars have caused six fatalities. One happened on March 18, 2018, in Tempe, Arizona. The vehicle failed to recognize a 49-year-old woman pushing her bicycle across the street and hit her. The official reports say that it was because she was jaywalking, and the car’s computer wasn’t programmed for that eventuality. The car was in fully autonomous mode, and the safety driver was distracted by her phone at the time. There were also three fatalities in Tesla vehicles, but they were not fully autonomous.
How many self driving cars are on the road in 2020?
Although the Guardian had predicted back in 2015 that we will have 10 million autonomous vehicles by now, the real numbers are much lower. According to the latest data, there are more than 1,400 self-driving vehicles of all categories currently in testing by more than 80 companies. They are scattered across 36 states and the District of Columbia. However, the bulk of them is in California, where 62 companies are conducting tests.
How many self driving cars are on the road now?
Although many manufacturers had visions of grandeur and Tesla even planned to have 1 million driverless taxis on the streets by the end of 2020, the facts tell a whole different story. The US Department of Transport stated that 82 companies in the US currently test their 1,400 vehicles. As far as commercial use is concerned, Lyft uses the Waymo fleet to transport passengers in Las Vegas, and they’ve performed 100,000 paid rides in autonomous vehicles.
Are self driving cars safer than cars driven by humans?
There’s no sufficient and conclusive data to claim that AVs are safer or less safe than human drivers. The companies are not obligated to send their data to some centralized database. Waymo, one of the industry leaders, reported 18 minor incidents per 6.1 million miles traveled and on driver intervention per 13,219 miles. Baidu has the best result with one disengagement per 18,050 miles traveled.
What is the cheapest self driving car?
This technology is not cheap, so cars equipped with it are not really affordable. You should be aware that these cars all require human supervision, and none of them is listed as fully autonomous (level 5). We are not even close to level 4. Many producers list partial self-driving capabilities, so it’s hard to compare. The first manufacturer to publicly announce mass production of level 3 autonomous vehicles is Honda, with its Legend model, available from March 2021.
How accurate are self driving cars?
Self-driving cars are much more accurate than humans when it comes to receiving information about their surroundings, thanks to the number of sensors. They are not impaired by alcohol, drugs, drowsiness, poor weather, and similar. But they cannot still perceive human actions. For instance, they are not prepared for people jaywalking. Most of the incidents that Waymo has had were other cars and bicycles hitting them. In human drivers vs. self driving cars, statistics indicate that most of the accidents were caused by people who were violating traffic regulations.
