Waymo is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday to respond to scrutiny over its self-driving technology following federal investigations into separate incidents involving its vehicles.
Federal agencies opened inquiries after a Waymo vehicle struck a child near an elementary school and after other incidents in which robotaxis drove past vehicles that were loading or unloading while parked beside school buses. The company will lay out its safety record in written testimony to the committee.
In that written statement, the Alphabet unit asserted that its autonomous vehicles "have been involved in 10 times fewer serious injury or worse crashes" compared with human drivers traveling the same distance under the same conditions. Waymo also said its safety efforts "were recently the subject of an independent audit."
Beyond defending its operational record, Waymo used the testimony to press Congress to enact legislation to support the deployment and development of self-driving vehicles. The company warned that U.S. leadership "in the autonomous vehicle sector is now under direct threat. The United States is locked in a global race with Chinese AV companies for the future of autonomous driving, a trillion-dollar industry comparable in strategic importance to flight and space travel."
The written testimony frames the hearing as both a defensive exercise on safety and an appeal for policy measures the company says are needed to sustain U.S. competitiveness. Waymo emphasized comparative safety metrics and an external audit of its processes while urging legislative action to shape the regulatory environment for autonomous vehicles.
This hearing follows the public release of federal probes into incidents that have drawn attention to how self-driving systems behave in sensitive situations around schools and school buses. The company’s testimony attempts to balance acknowledgment of those incidents with data-driven claims of a lower rate of serious injuries versus human driving under similar conditions.
The issues raised at the committee - safety performance, oversight by federal agencies, and international competition - are likely to shape the policy discussion on autonomous vehicle regulation and industry support in the months ahead.
Key points
- Waymo will present written testimony to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to defend its safety record following federal probes into incidents involving a child and robotaxis near school buses.
- The company said its self-driving vehicles "have been involved in 10 times fewer serious injury or worse crashes" than human drivers over comparable miles and conditions, and noted an independent audit of its safety efforts.
- Waymo urged Congress to pass legislation to advance autonomous vehicles and warned that U.S. leadership faces competition from Chinese AV companies.
Risks and uncertainties
- Ongoing federal investigations into collisions and robotaxi behavior could prompt regulatory scrutiny - impacting automotive and technology sectors.
- Legislative inaction or slow policy development may affect deployment timelines and competitive positioning for U.S.-based AV firms.
- International competition, particularly from Chinese AV companies, could reshape market dynamics and influence investment decisions in autonomous vehicle technology.