Injuries Increase as Waymo and Zoox Test Drivers Experience Sprains and Whiplash During Robotaxi Growth

The rapid growth of robotaxis over the past two years has incurred an often-ignored human toll.

During 2024 and 2025, Waymo and Zoox test drivers reported more than two dozen injuries attributed to sudden braking or other unexpected behaviors from the autonomous vehicles, as detailed in a TechCrunch examination of data submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

These test drivers, tasked with assessing autonomous vehicles on public roads, have suffered from injuries such as sprains, strains, whiplash, and more, according to OSHA reports and statements from current and former workers. Several have experienced lengthy absences from work, lasting several weeks to months.

Transdev, which employs and supervises Waymo’s test drivers, recorded 16 injuries linked to Waymo’s operations across three cities, resulting from abrupt stops or erratic movements caused by the autonomous software. Zoox also reported up to eight worker injuries associated with hard braking incidents.

Other companies involved in autonomous vehicle development might not appear in this dataset, potentially due to exemptions. The injuries from Zoox and Waymo are included because both companies categorize themselves under taxi, limo, or transit services, which are subject to stricter reporting requirements from OSHA, categorized as “higher-hazard” industries. Furthermore, only establishments employing 100 or more individuals in these sectors are obliged to disclose such information publicly, meaning that test drivers in newer locations, where operations have not yet scaled, may sustain injuries that go unreported in this dataset.

Currently, TechCrunch has not determined whether Waymo or Transdev recorded any new injuries in 2026. OSHA permits companies to submit annual data the following year via its Injury Tracking Application.

Sources suggest that injuries continue to happen at Zoox, according to confidential discussions with TechCrunch.

Two active and three former Zoox contractors informed TechCrunch that the company’s test fleet — modified Toyota Highlander SUVs equipped with self-driving technology — has encountered hard and abrupt braking incidents as recently as July. Three of these contractors indicated ongoing injuries among staff, speaking under anonymity due to the sensitive nature of operations.

Zoox declined to respond to specific questions regarding the injuries reported in the previous year or the claims made by contractors about persistent hard-braking problems. The company asserted its commitment to fulfilling reporting obligations and treating worker injuries with seriousness.

Zoox further stated that hard braking situations are sometimes unavoidable, claiming that the injuries reported last year represent a minor percentage of the millions of miles covered by its test fleet.

Similarly, Waymo chose not to provide comments regarding the injuries submitted to OSHA.

“The safety of our riders, road users, and team is our top priority,” Waymo stated to TechCrunch. “In our responsible deployment of fully autonomous vehicles, we have covered tens of millions of miles with human operators behind the wheel. These trips are part of our ongoing validation process, and insights gained are integrated into the service.”

Transdev opted for no comment.

Increased mileage, increased injuries

Although Waymo has invested over ten years in developing its self-driving technology, significant scaling did not occur until 2025. The company expanded its services to new cities and began mapping and testing in various areas, growing its commercial fleet to more than 1,500 vehicles by May 2025. The current fleet size exceeds 3,500 vehicles.

Waymo does not publicly disclose the specific number of vehicles used solely for testing. However, the scale of autonomous vehicle testing has likely increased as the company has expanded its operational zones and familiarized itself with entirely new environments.

Injuries among test drivers have also risen significantly.

Transdev reported five injuries among Waymo test drivers in 2024 across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. One injury was due to hard braking, while the remaining four were caused by unpredictable vehicle behavior.

In one specific incident, a test driver recounted an experience where the vehicle “suddenly reversed” while parking and “jerked the steering wheel,” leading to an injury to his left hand and causing it to bend “to the point he heard a crack in his wrist.” This resulted in the employee being away from work for over two months.

In 2025, the number of reported injuries rose to 11 across these three cities, with hard braking being a primary cause in nearly all cases. In one report, a test driver in Phoenix had to take 157 days off following an “exaggerated braking event without any obstruction.” At least two additional injury reports indicated hard braking occurred without clear reasons.

The sole injury report from 2025 that provided a cause for a hard-braking incident involved an occurrence in August in Los Angeles, triggered by “some kids on the road.” The Waymo robotaxi braked so abruptly that the worker was sidelined for 175 days.

“Software braked harshly”

As reported by Zoox contractors, occurrences of hard braking — internally referred to as “brake jabs” — can transpire multiple times during a single test drive, sometimes within the same area. These events can happen at various speeds, but higher-speed incidents typically result in more severe bodily consequences, they noted.

The abrupt braking frequently occurs when the autonomous system erroneously detects debris on the road, they pointed out.

The most concerning situations arise during a “nogo” — an internal term for a total system shutdown that usually leads to a brake jab.

“You could be going 45 miles per hour, and the car could initiate a nogo, lurching you forward in the midst of traffic, requiring you to quickly regain control,” explained one contractor.

This pattern is consistently noted in the injury reports filed by Zoox with OSHA.

On January 5, 2025, a Zoox test vehicle autonomously operating in San Francisco executed a sudden stop, classified as “harsh” by Zoox, injuring a contractor’s shoulder and upper arm, leading to 16 days of restricted work.

Later that month, another driver sustained injuries when a Zoox vehicle made an “unexpected” stop, causing neck injuries and swelling in the shoulder. The contractor returned to unrestricted work after an eight-day absence.

Most injuries recorded by Zoox have affected individuals seated in the driver’s seat of the SUVs. An instructor responsible for training test drivers reported being injured during an event on June 3 in San Francisco, when the vehicle’s “software braked harshly,” leading to “sharp pain in the lower right ribs and tightness in the left shoulder” upon returning to the base.

The instructor also reported spinal and pelvic injuries; however, the work restrictions lasted only four days based on the data.

Seven out of the eight injury reports specifically mention hard braking, nogos, or brake jabs. The eighth incident pertained to a worker who faced the longest absence — 46 days — citing “extreme back pain” after operating a test vehicle in Las Vegas in May 2025. Zoox indicated that the worker was uncertain whether the injury was related to the vehicle’s autonomous behavior but attributed it to a “vehicle maneuver.”

Zoox is addressing these hard-braking issues as it rolls out its commercial robotaxi service to compete with Waymo. The Amazon-owned company began charging for rides in its purpose-built robotaxi in Las Vegas earlier this month, while continuing to offer free rides in San Francisco and testing operations in cities like Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Four injuries reported by Zoox in 2025 followed a recall intended to address an extensive federal investigation concerning the tendency of its autonomous vehicles to brake unexpectedly. Zoox stated that the recall focused on a very specific braking behavior and claimed that subsequent incidents and related injuries were unrelated to the software adjustment.

Two contractors informed TechCrunch that braking can be challenging even when manually operating the Zoox test vehicles due to the added weight of the self-driving sensor suite. While test drivers receive training to adjust to this increased weight, they acknowledged that minor injuries can occur even during the training stage.

Determining whether Zoox’s purpose-built vehicles, which lack traditional controls like steering wheels or pedals, frequently encounter hard-braking situations is difficult. These vehicles usually operate either unoccupied or carry passengers who are not employees, which suggests that any injuries would not be documented by OSHA.

In the past eight months, Zoox has reported two robotaxi accidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, resulting from hard braking to avoid debris, causing its purpose-built vehicles to be rear-ended. However, the company did not disclose specifics regarding the debris involved in either incident.