IIHS: self-driving cars see 68% fewer crashes

The IIHS comparison is notable because it puts self-driving and human driving on the same per-distance footing, the only way the 68% figure becomes meaningful. Underneath that headline number, though, the institute's own data is narrow: Waymo is the only operator reporting the distance data needed to calculate a crash rate, so its result cannot be read as an industry-wide verdict. Tesla's robotaxi cuts the other way, with data showing four times the crash frequency of human drivers. IEEE Spectrum's hope of 580,000 lives saved a year rests on a 50% accident reduction — a much larger gain than what today's limited data actually demonstrates, and one that would depend on how broadly the technology is deployed.