Autonomous Car Makers Release Safety Reports They Love to Hate (1)

Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors-backed Cruise saw their autonomous vehicles require less help from human drivers on California’s public roads in 2019.

Waymo drove 13,219 miles on average before a human safety driver had to take control of the vehicle and Cruise saw its autonomous cars drive 12,221 miles before the autonomous system was disengaged, according to data released today by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The autonomous vehicle disengagement reports are published annually to monitor the performance of self-driving systems by many of the biggest companies pursuing this technology. But in recent years, it has drawn criticism from those very companies, who question ...