Overview
- Waymo has moved into a fully autonomous test phase in downtown Detroit with vehicles operating without anyone in the front seat and rides ordered through an app for rear-seat passengers.
- The company says the system is markedly safer than human drivers, citing claims that it is 10 times safer and has 95% fewer serious or fatal crashes in its operating areas; those figures are company statements rather than independent findings.
- Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation has met regularly with Waymo while the Detroit Police and Fire departments coordinate readiness and the State of Michigan regulates the deployment.
- Local reaction is mixed, with some residents expressing nervousness and others interest, and community partners such as the Urban League highlighting potential safety and accessibility benefits for riders who worry about driver behavior.
- The driverless phase follows months of supervised mapping runs in the city and marks Detroit as Waymo’s reported 11th city as the company prepares for further checks before any wider public service begins.