Waymo Begins Driverless Highway Tests

After millions of driverless kilometers in urban areas, Waymo is now tackling the next challenge: driverless driving on highways at higher speeds. Since the start of the development of autonomous cars in 2009 in the Project Chauffeur at Google, the now independent company has also undertaken test drives on highways, albeit always with a safety driver in the driver’s seat. The tests with Waymo Via’s Class 8 trucks, which drove almost exclusively on the highway, were particularly prominent.

But now Waymo is taking driverless test drives on highways in Phoenix, Arizona, where one of the company’s robotaxi fleets has been available to the public without a driver since 2018. Speeds of up to more than 65 miles per hour (around 105 km/h) are legally permitted. So far, Waymo’s robotaxi fleets in California and Nevada have consistently avoided highways, taking longer and more time-consuming detours in urban areas instead.

Waymo illustrates this in an example journey that only takes half the time when using highways: instead of 50 minutes of driving time, the ride’s duration is reduced to 25 minutes.

Highway journeys pose a particular challenge. On the one hand, they are easier than city trips, as pedestrians, parked vehicles and many other scenarios do not occur in a very busy city on the highway. Also, traffic only flows in one direction. On the other hand, all this happens at higher speeds and mistakes can have more serious consequences. Similarly, with higher speeds, sensors are also needed that can see further ahead in order to be able to react to situations ahead of time.

These driverless highway tests in Phoenix will initially only be accessible with Waymo employees as passengers.

This article was also published in German.