The central promise of autonomous vehicles is simple: make roads safer. But as the technology moves closer to becoming mainstream, the humans testing it are getting hurt, and the injuries are mounting.
Recent data submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shows that Waymo and Zoox test drivers suffered more than two dozen injuries in 2024 and 2025. Sprains, whiplash, back pain, and other injuries were linked to hard braking and sudden vehicle movements. Some workers were sidelined for weeks or even months.
The rapid expansion of robotaxis over the past two years appears to have come with a hidden human cost.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
Who's getting hurt and where
Transdev, which employs and manages Waymo's test drivers, reported 16 injuries across San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Zoox reported eight worker injuries, seven of which explicitly mentioned hard braking, “nogos” or “brake jabs.”
These injuries appear in OSHA's public data because Waymo and Zoox classify themselves as taxi, limo, or transit services, industries that face greater disclosure requirements. Other autonomous vehicle companies may not appear in the dataset because they could be exempt from these reporting requirements.
What's actually happening
Many of the injuries involve hard braking or sudden directional changes.
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