Skip to main content

An analysis of real-world crashes involving self-driving vehicles

A study by the University of Michigan performed a preliminary analysis of the cumulative on-road safety record of self-driving vehicles for three of the ten companies that are currently approved for such vehicle testing in California (Google, Delphi, and Audi). The analysis compared the safety record of these vehicles with the safety record of all conventional vehicles in the US for 2013 (adjusted for underreporting of crashes that do not involve a fatality).
October 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A study by the University of Michigan performed a preliminary analysis of the cumulative on-road safety record of self-driving vehicles for three of the ten companies that are currently approved for such vehicle testing in California (1691 Google, 7207 Delphi, and 2125 Audi).

The analysis compared the safety record of these vehicles with the safety record of all conventional vehicles in the US for 2013 (adjusted for underreporting of crashes that do not involve a fatality).

Taking into account the fact that the distance accumulated by self-driving vehicles is still relatively low compared with conventional vehicles and that the vehicles were driven only in limited conditions, the study came up with some interesting results.

These, including the facts that self-driving vehicles may have a higher crash rate per million miles travelled than conventional vehicles, and self-driving vehicles were not at fault in any crashes they were involved in, are available in the report abstract on the university’s website. (link %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal http://www.umich.edu/~umtriswt/PDF/UMTRI-2015-34_Abstract_English.pdf Visit Umich false http://www.umich.edu/~umtriswt/PDF/UMTRI-2015-34_Abstract_English.pdf false false%>).

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • SQLstream shows s-Transport real time Big Data platform
    October 24, 2012
    SQLstream will be showing its s-Transport real-time Big Data platform that enables applications such as real-time journey times and live incident detection to be quickly deployed. Big data is any type of data – structured and unstructured data such as text, sensor data, audio, video, click streams and log files. New insights can be uncovered when analysing these data types together. At the core of the SQLstream s-Transport is the s-Server platform, which enables huge quantities of data to be integrated and
  • CARD4B shows WildCard Ticketing kernel software at CARTES 2013
    November 19, 2013
    SESAMES Award finalist CARD4B is showcasing its TickeGO-compliant WildCard Ticketing Kernel software at CARTES 2013. The middleware embraces multiple customer-media technologies (such as Calypso, Mifare, NFC, 2D bar code), multiple terminals and operating-systems and provides business rules to support multi card-schema, embedded into any terminal or online behind a web service for web or mobile apps, and covers all ATFC functions. It is complemented by a XML-based card data model Editor visual tool t
  • Auto industry on cusp of revolutionary change
    August 7, 2012
    The automotive industry appears to be on the cusp of revolutionary change, which will be engendered by the advent of autonomous or ‘self-driving’ vehicles - and the timing may be sooner than you think, according to a new report unveiled by KPMG and the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR).
  • C-roads will soon be ‘a reality’
    March 9, 2018
    Cross-border C-ITS-enabled roads (C-roads) will start becoming a reality in 2019, with safety as the driver, according to AustriaTech/ITS Austria's Martin Bohm. He made the comment during a recent Brussels workshop run by the European ITS and C-roads platforms to assess results of road corridor pilots. The latter is a joint initiative by EU member states and road operators to test and implement C-ITS services for universal harmonisation and interoperability. We can, he continued, deploy systems