Waymo and Zoox test drivers logged more than two dozen injuries as robotaxi fleets scaled
Waymo contractor Transdev reported 16 test-driver injuries across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix — five in 2024, 11 in 2025 — and Zoox as many as eight, nearly all from hard braking with no obstruction, per OSHA data reviewed by TechCrunch. The cost of validating autonomy is landing on contract labor: one Los Angeles driver missed 175 days, a Phoenix driver 157, and Zoox absences ran from four to 46 days. The numbers surface only because both companies file as higher-hazard taxi operators with 100-plus employees, so injuries at newer depots and smaller AV programs stay unmeasured.
Source: techcrunch.com ↗
Some have been sidelined for weeks or months.
TechCrunch analysis of OSHA data
Why this matters
- → Test drivers absorbing physical toll — sprains, whiplash, lost months — as robotaxis scale.
- → Hard braking with no obstruction suggests unresolved autonomous-driving gaps.
- → Only visible because Waymo/Zoox file as taxi operators; smaller AV programs escape OSHA scrutiny.
Autonomy's hidden cost