Google ‘s Waymo Is Way Ahead In Autonomous Car Technology Race

Google's Waymo is proving itself to be the most reliable company engaged in self-driving technology development. The company has already run 2.3 miles in its self-driven cars and its test cars are performing outstandingly in road tests for self-driven cars in California.

Yahoo reports that Waymo's fleet of cars is posting positive results in tests approved by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). California is the ideal state to test self-driving cars since it has varied road conditions in different terrains and is the seat of most companies engaged in autonomous driving technology development.

Companies that need to test their self-driven cars in California are required to secure permits to drive on public roads. For permits to have continuity, companies are required to submit yearly reports about the tests on their self-driven cars.

Companies report the number miles that the self-driven cars have traveled on California's public roads. They also report the number of times the autonomous car disengaged, either by itself when the self-driving software cannot resolve and maneuver through a given situation, or by the human driver who takes over when the software is unable to solve a problem or recognize a particular obstacle on the road.

Based on reports submitted to and compiled by California DMV, Waymo is very much ahead of all the other companies that are testing their self-driving cars. Waymo beats all competitors in both the number of miles driven and the disengagement rates done by the test cars.

In the period Dec.15, 2015 to Nov. 2016, Waymo posted 635,868 miles with only 124 disengagements or 1disengagement in 5,127 miles. Tesla, whose cars are already in the market, recorded only 552 miles driven with 172 disengagements or a high ratio of 1 in every 3.2 miles.

Mercedes-Benz drove only 673 miles with 336 disengagements or 1 per 2 miles. Nissan recorded 4,099 miles with 28 disengagements or 1 for every 146 miles. With its outstanding results in self-driving road tests, Google's Waymo may very well be the most reliable car company in self-driving technology.