Interpreting Safety Outcomes: Waymo's Performance Evaluation in the Context of a Broader Determination of Safety Readiness

Abstract

This paper frames recent publications from Waymo within the broader context of the safety readiness determination for an Automated Driving System (ADS). Starting from a brief overview of safety performance outcomes reported by Waymo (i.e., contact events experienced during fully autonomous operations), this paper highlights the need for a diversified approach to safety determination that complements the analysis of observed safety outcomes with other estimation techniques. Our discussion highlights: the presentation of a "credibility paradox" within the comparison between ADS crash data and human-derived baselines; the recognition of continuous confidence growth through in-use monitoring; and the need to supplement any aggregate statistical analysis with appropriate event-level reasoning.