Public records show the worker injuries behind robotaxi testing
TechCrunch found more than two dozen injuries tied to sudden braking, swerving, or other autonomous behavior in 2024 and 2025 OSHA records. Transdev, which manages Waymo test drivers, reported 16 injuries across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Zoox reported as many as eight injuries linked to hard braking. Reported outcomes included sprains, strains, whiplash, and workers spending days or months away from work.
Verified 2:51 AM PDT · 2 original sources
The evidence
What the reporting establishes
What happened
TechCrunch found more than two dozen injuries tied to sudden braking, swerving, or other autonomous behavior in 2024 and 2025 OSHA records. Transdev, which manages Waymo test drivers, reported 16 injuries across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Zoox reported as many as eight injuries linked to hard braking. Reported outcomes included sprains, strains, whiplash, and workers spending days or months away from work.
Pressure point
The files do not measure every autonomous-vehicle injury. OSHA's public case-detail rules cover only specified industries and establishments with at least 100 employees. The 2026 cases will not appear until the next reporting cycle. Company responses said the incidents represent a small share of testing miles. The companies also said some hard braking is unavoidable. The records still show a labor cost that passenger-mile and driverless-ride metrics can miss.
What to watch
Watch 2026 OSHA filings, hard-braking rates, injury severity, and contractor protections. Recall results and company disclosure standards matter too. Safety reports should separate passenger, road-user, and test-worker outcomes.
Audit the story
Original sources
Company claims remain company claims. Follow the reporting and judge the evidence directly.
- TechCrunchSprains, pain, and whiplash: Waymo and Zoox test drivers are getting hurt as robotaxis scale ↗
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration2025 Case Detail Data, submissions through March 15, 2026 ↗
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