Robotaxis Are Leaving Test Drivers Beaten, Battered And Bruised

Robotaxis are popping up in cities across the United States despite the ongoing controversies surrounding autonomous rideshare services. From interfering with active crime scenes to making dangerous driving decisions, robotaxis continue to raise questions about the safety of autonomous rideshare services. Adding to this concern, there are continued reports of test drivers getting injured while inside Waymo and Zoox autonomous taxis. From 2024 to 2025, at least 24 injuries were reported from sudden, unexpected braking and swerving. This has led to whiplash, sprains, and other injuries, according to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration obtained by TechCrunch.

Current Zoox test drivers told TechCrunch that the modified Toyota Highlander SUVs were still braking too hard as of July 2026, causing even more injuries. The hard braking happens at basically any speed when the system incorrectly detects something on the road. One Zoox employee said that sometimes the entire system shuts down, causing extremely abrupt braking even at high speeds. 

Waymo test drivers have been injured across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix due to the vehicle's erratic driving behavior. This included a Waymo seemingly backing up out of nowhere, the rapidly moving steering wheel catching the test driver's hand and bending it until he heard a crack. Another Waymo braked so hard after spotting children in its path that the test driver had to take 175 days off of work. Needing time off for injuries is a trend across the dozens of cases. This comes at a time when a former Tesla employee also came forward about how "dangerous" robotaxi testing has been in Texas, citing a lack of oversight, collisions, and Full Self-Driving software that isn't ready. 

After hearing about the internal accidents at Zoox, you may be worried about taking a ride in one of their autonomous purpose-built vehicles. Zoox recalled its self-driving cars in 2025 following a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into abrupt braking that led to some accidents. Zoox says the software defect addressed by that recall was fixed. The hard braking issue appears to be ongoing during testing, although it's difficult to know if it's happening — and how often — during rides with passengers, since Zoox is only reporting employee-related accidents to OSHA. 

Zoox claims its autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers, although no specific data was given. Said Qi Hommes, Zoox's Vice President, System Design and Mission Assurance: "We calculate the total safety risk. I believe no one else does this — from hardware, software, all the way to operation. We add all the risk up." (via Axios)

Zoox recalled all of its vehicles in July 2026 after one vehicle got confused by heavy smoke from an emergency fire scene. Zoox is now back on the road, charging for rides in Las Vegas and offering free rides in San Francisco. Testing is ongoing in a handful of cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington D.C.