Waymo and Zoox test drivers sustained dozens of injuries from autonomous vehicle sudden movements in 2024-2025
OSHA data reveals test drivers at two major AV companies experienced whiplash and other injuries from hard braking events, sidelining some workers for months.
What happened
Test drivers for Waymo and Zoox sustained more than two dozen injuries in 2024 and 2025 from hard braking or other sudden movements made by autonomous vehicles, according to data submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In some cases, workers experienced whiplash and were sidelined for months after the AVs stopped abruptly. The reporting covers both former and current workers at these companies.
Context
While proponents of autonomous vehicle technology have argued that robotaxis and self-driving vehicles will reduce crash incidents and improve road safety, and some evidence supports this claim, test drivers developing this technology have borne direct physical costs. The injuries sustained by Waymo and Zoox workers represent a hidden human dimension of AV development. However, the full scope of this problem may be larger: other AV developers may not be reporting similar injuries if their companies are exempt from OSHA's reporting requirements, meaning the documented cases at Waymo and Zoox may represent only a partial picture of worker safety issues in the autonomous vehicle industry.