How Many Waymo Accidents Have There Been?

You see a Waymo vehicle after a collision near an Austin intersection. A headline gives you a crash total, but not what happened in this crash. To understand the number, you need its reporting period and the records behind it.

How Many Accidents Has Waymo Had?

An analysis through August 2026 using the October 15, 2026 release of NHTSA’s automated-driving crash reports contains 1,273 unique Waymo crashes. That is 82.8% of 1,538 unique incidents reported across companies in the analyzed file. It measures reported involvement, not fault or Waymo’s lifetime crash total.

The analysis mainly covers June 2025 through August 2026, and those months account for 1,272 Waymo reports. The 1,273 total also includes one report coded April 2025. September 2026 crashes are excluded.

To avoid counting revisions as new crashes, the analysis kept each report’s highest version. It also collapsed one same-incident match submitted by two companies in the all-company total. These steps matter when comparing self-driving car crash totals from different sources.

Waymo had 163 reports in the complete third quarter of 2025 and 322 in the complete second quarter of 2026. This increase does not show whether crashes became more frequent per mile, since the federal file has no mileage figure for that calculation.

Is Waymo Safe?

The reports include alleged injuries, so Waymo crashes can have serious consequences. Yet these counts alone cannot show whether Waymo is safer than a human driver. Mileage-based research offers a narrower comparison for selected places and crash types.

The severity fields list 1,109 property-damage-only reports, 18 with no injury, and 16 with unknown severity. Another 130 allege an injury, including 47 that involved a hospital visit or death. These are report categories, not a count of distinct injured people or proven findings.

Two reports describe fatal sequences. According to Waymo’s submissions, a motorcyclist in Tempe, AZ, in September 2025, struck a Waymo before a passing car struck the fallen rider; in Dallas, TX, in August 2026, an SUV struck a pedestrian before the pedestrian contacted a Waymo. Those accounts do not settle legal responsibility.

Context also matters for nonfatal crashes, as a Waymo was stopped or parked in 703 reports. Other reports list a Waymo making a left turn in 49 crashes; a right turn in 26; a lane change in 24; or hitting a fixed object, pole, or tree in 58 reports. None of these fields alone proves who caused the collision, and in 33 reports, the automated driving system was verified as not engaged.

NHTSA’s Standing General Order collects qualifying incidents, but its raw counts lack miles traveled. In an earlier four-city study, IIHS found lower police-reportable crash involvement for Waymo, with an imprecise Austin estimate. Because Waymo’s Safety Impact Hub publishes rider-only mileage through June 2026, neither comparison uses the same window and definition as this federal count, which is why a self-driving crash statistic needs context.

Where to Find Waymo Crash Data

The federal incident file supports the counts in this article. Waymo’s Safety Impact Hub addresses a different question: crash experience measured against its own mileage and comparison methods. A total from one source should not be treated as a rate from the other.

NHTSA’s report file includes crash month, location, alleged severity, report versions, and company-submitted narratives. Under the reporting order, a five-day filing may be required for reasons beyond an injury, while monthly reports cover other specified crashes. Ultimately, the filing schedule is not a simple injury label.

Before comparing totals, check the download date and the months included. Then check for superseded versions and whether the automated system was engaged. Read a crash description as the submitting company’s account, not an independent finding.

Waymo Crashes in Texas

The same deduplicated file contains 177 Waymo crashes reported in Texas. Austin accounts for most of them, but Houston already appears in the federal reports.

Source: NHTSA automated-driving incident file released October 15, 2026, analyzed for crashes through August 2026.

Texas severity fields show 164 property-damage-only reports, one with no injury, and one with unknown severity. Seven allege a minor injury without a hospital visit, and three allege a minor injury with a hospital visit. One is a fatal report.

According to Waymo’s Dallas submission, an SUV hit a pedestrian before the pedestrian contacted a slowing, unoccupied Waymo. That narrative does not establish fault. Nor do the statewide totals show a crash rate: Texas had 15 reports in the complete third quarter of 2025, then 27, 46, and 52 in the next three complete quarters.

Texas now has a TxDMV authorization program for commercial driverless operation, which requires companies to meet regulatory standards to operate. The agency says its authorization requirement became enforceable May 28, 2026. However, an administrative authorization rule does not determine responsibility for any particular crash.

Waymo Liability & Evidence in Texas

Responsibility for a Waymo collision depends on what each road user and vehicle did. A federal crash report documents involvement, but the evidence must connect conduct to an injury or loss.

Traffic-Law Operator vs. Civil Liability

When an automated driving system is engaged, Texas Transportation Code § 545.454 treats it as the operator for traffic-law compliance. The section also addresses who receives a citation. That traffic rule alone does not decide negligence, causation, insurance coverage, or civil liability after a self-driving car crash.

Engagement status is therefore an early question, as the federal file includes 33 Waymo reports that verified the system was not engaged. Driver actions, automated maneuvers, road conditions, and other vehicles may all need review to determine fault. Furthermore, a product-defect claim would require its own evidence, as Texas law sets specific design-defect proof requirements, including providing a safer alternative design and showing that the defect was a producing cause of the injury.

Rider Evidence vs. Other Road-User Evidence

A rider may have an app trip record, route details, and messages tied to the ride. Another driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian may have to rely first on scene records. Both should preserve what they can access promptly.

• Photograph vehicle positions, damage, road markings, signs, and the surrounding scene.
• Save witness names, contact details, the police report number, and medical records.
• Keep trip and route records, messages, and any available camera footage.
• Ask about automated-system status, vehicle and sensor logs, and preservation of relevant data.

Internal vehicle records may require a formal preservation request or legal process. If an injury claim is disputed, those records can help clarify how the crash happened and who may be responsible. 

Talk with a Texas Injury Attorney

If you were hurt in a Waymo collision, Angel Reyes & Associates can discuss the crash record, possible responsibility, and steps to preserve evidence. The firm can also explain contingency representation for a potential injury claim. Contact us to request a review of your situation.

For over 30 years, our team of more than 700 dedicated professionals across more than 30 Texas offices has helped injured Texans recover over $1 billion. We offer free consultations, and you pay no fees unless we win your case. Our team is available 24/7 with full legal services in both English and Spanish to assist you anytime. 

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.