Test drivers working with Waymo and Zoox reported more than two dozen workplace injuries in 2024 and 2025 linked to hard braking, sudden swerving, and other movements by autonomous vehicles. The injuries included sprains, strains, whiplash, and other conditions that left some workers unable to work for weeks or months.
The figures come from workplace injury data submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Transdev, which employs and manages Waymo test drivers, reported 16 injuries connected to Waymo operations across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, while Zoox reported as many as eight.
Reported Injuries Increased as Waymo Expanded Testing
Transdev reported five Waymo-related test-driver injuries in 2024, including one caused by hard braking and four involving other erratic vehicle movements. One worker injured a wrist after a vehicle suddenly reversed while parking and moved the steering wheel, resulting in more than two months away from work.
The number rose to 11 reported injuries across the same three cities in 2025, with hard braking responsible for nearly all of them. One Phoenix worker spent 157 days away from work after what the report described as an exaggerated braking event without an obstruction.
Another Los Angeles test driver spent 175 days away from work after a vehicle braked sharply when children were playing in its path.
Waymo has expanded significantly during the same period. The company said in February 2026 that its fleet had reached about 3,000 vehicles and was providing more than 400,000 rides each week.
Zoox Workers Describe Repeated Hard-Braking Events
Current and former Zoox contractors said modified Toyota Highlander test vehicles were still experiencing sudden braking as recently as July. Workers internally refer to some of these events as “brake jabs,” while a full system shutdown that can trigger abrupt braking is known as a “nogo.”
Seven of the eight Zoox injuries reported to OSHA explicitly referenced hard braking, brake jabs, or nogos. One January 2025 incident injured a worker’s shoulder and upper arm after an autonomous vehicle stopped abruptly, while another worker later suffered neck and shoulder injuries after an unexpected stop.
The braking issue has previously drawn federal scrutiny. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated two incidents in which Zoox test vehicles unexpectedly braked and were rear-ended by motorcycles.
Zoox later recalled 258 automated driving systems over software that could cause unexpected hard braking, with all affected units listed as remedied.
Zoox said some hard-braking events are unavoidable and that the reported injuries represent a small fraction of the millions of miles driven by its test fleet. Waymo said trips with human operators remain part of its validation process, while both companies declined to address the individual OSHA injury reports in detail.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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