Robotaxi test drivers are getting hurt as Waymo and Zoox scale up
OSHA filings show two dozen-plus injuries from hard braking and sudden swerves — and reporting gaps mean the real toll on test drivers is likely higher.
What happened: A TechCrunch review of OSHA records found more than two dozen injuries among Waymo and Zoox test drivers in 2024 and 2025, caused by hard braking, sudden swerves, or full system shutdowns. Transdev, which staffs Waymo's test drivers, logged 16 injuries across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Zoox reported eight, mostly among drivers in its modified Toyota Highlander test SUVs. Injuries included sprains, whiplash, and back pain, with some workers off the job for months. Current and former Zoox contractors say hard braking was still happening as recently as July 2026, though neither company's newest data has been made public yet.
Why it matters: Test drivers ride along specifically to catch dangerous software behavior before it reaches paying passengers — so a rise in their injuries is a signal the technology is still unpredictable even as companies expand fast. Waymo's fleet more than doubled since May 2025. Meanwhile, OSHA only forces detailed public disclosure from companies classified as taxi, limo, or transit services with 100+ employees, so smaller cities, newer operators, and other AV companies entirely may be causing injuries nobody outside the company ever sees.
How it works, plainly: Workers describe "brake jabs" — abrupt stops the self-driving system makes, often after detecting or misreading debris — and "nogos," a full system shutdown mid-drive that can throw a driver forward at highway speed with no warning. One Waymo test driver's wrist cracked when the car suddenly backed itself up and yanked the wheel; he was out over two months. A Zoox instructor riding in the back seat reported rib, shoulder, spine, and pelvis pain after a hard stop. Contractors say the AV sensor equipment's extra weight makes braking harder even when driving manually.
The rollout: Zoox issued a recall last year after a year-long federal probe into unexpected braking, but four injuries occurred after that fix — Zoox says they're unrelated. The company just started charging riders in Las Vegas, offers free rides in San Francisco, and is testing in six more cities. Its purpose-built robotaxis have no steering wheel or pedals, so once testing shifts fully to those vehicles, any occupant injuries won't show up in this kind of public data at all — even if the underlying braking behavior doesn't change.