Waymo and Zoox test drivers injured by sudden robotaxi braking
Test drivers employed by autonomous vehicle firms Waymo and Zoox sustained more than two dozen injuries in 2024 and 2025 as a result of hard braking or other sudden manoeuvres carried out by the self-driving vehicles, according to a TechCrunch investigation. This matters because it highlights a hidden human cost behind the industry's frequent claims that robotaxis make roads safer, raising questions about working conditions for the people still needed to test and oversee the technology.
Some workers were sidelined for months after suffering injuries such as whiplash caused by the vehicles stopping abruptly and forcefully, based on data submitted to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and interviews with current and former employees. TechCrunch notes that other AV developers likely have similar injury rates, but many are not required to report such incidents to OSHA, meaning the true scale of the problem across the industry remains unclear.
- Waymo and Zoox test drivers hurt in 24+ incidents from abrupt AV braking
- Injuries including whiplash sidelined some workers for months
- Other AV firms may be exempt from OSHA reporting, masking wider harm
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Waymo and Zoox are companies developing self-driving taxis, known as robotaxis. Their vehicles use cameras, sensors and software to navigate roads, but human employees still test them and monitor how they behave.
In the United States, some workplace injuries must be reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, the federal agency that oversees worker safety. Reporting rules do not cover every autonomous vehicle company, so available figures may not show the full number of injuries across the industry.
The issue matters because claims that robotaxis could make roads safer sit alongside questions about the safety of the people testing them. It also raises questions about how companies protect workers while developing the technology.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The reported injuries point to a real occupational safety concern: companies deploying experimental vehicles have a duty to protect the employees testing them, especially when abrupt manoeuvres can cause serious harm or long absences. The cases also suggest that safety claims about robotaxis should account for risks to test workers, and that consistent incident reporting could help identify problems across the industry.
The case against
Injuries during testing do not by themselves show that autonomous vehicles are unsafe overall or less safe than human-driven cars; the report gives no comparable injury rates or exposure figures. Testing carries risks while systems are developed, and sudden braking may be a safety response to perceived hazards, so the incidents need context before drawing conclusions about the technology or its net effect on road safety.
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Originally published by TechCrunch as “TechCrunch Mobility: The hidden human cost of robotaxis”.