# Waymo safety record

33 incident(s) on file for Waymo, rolled up across its models and deployments (operated or manufactured). Retracted claims are excluded from this count but remain reachable at their own canonical URLs.

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## Incidents (33)

- [California SB 1246 and AB 1777 take effect July 1, 2026 - new AV regulations](/incidents/regulatory-action-2026-07-01-waymo.md) (2026-07-01): Regulatory action · severity: minor · other · other
- [Waymo recalls nearly 3,800 robotaxis over freeway construction zone risks](/incidents/recall-2026-06-30-waymo.md) (2026-06-30): Recall · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Waymo recalls 3,871 robotaxis over software glitch risking entry into closed freeway construction zones](/incidents/recall-2026-06-18-waymo.md) (2026-06-18): Recall · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Waymo recalls 672 robotaxis after collision with telephone pole in Phoenix](/incidents/recall-2026-06-15-waymo.md) (2026-06-15): Recall · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Waymo recalls 3,871 ADS vehicles (NHTSA 26E-035) over entering freeway construction zones](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-freeway-construction-recall-2026.md) (2026-06-13): Recall · severity: serious · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Software May Allow Vehicle to Enter and Drive In Freeway Construction Zones](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-26e035000.md) (2026-06-13): Recall · NHTSA
- [Waymo recalls 672 robotaxis after vehicle collided with telephone pole in Phoenix](/incidents/collision-2026-06-10-waymo.md) (2026-06-10): Collision · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [CNN uncovers reported close calls with Waymo robotaxis - 'I had to push my son out of the way'](/incidents/other-2026-06-03-waymo.md) (2026-06-03): Other · severity: serious · NHTSA · inquiry opened
- [Waymo suspended Atlanta robotaxi service after a robotaxi was stuck amid flooding (May 2026)](/incidents/waymo-atlanta-flood-suspension-2026-05.md) (2026-05-21): Malfunction · severity: moderate
- [Waymo temporarily suspended freeway robotaxi service in four cities to improve construction-zone performance (May 2026)](/incidents/waymo-freeway-service-suspension-2026-05.md) (2026-05-21): Other · severity: minor
- [Waymo issued a software recall and halted San Antonio service over robotaxis driving into floods (May 2026)](/incidents/waymo-san-antonio-flood-recall-2026-05.md) (2026-05-14): Recall · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Waymo recalls over 3,500 vehicles after robotaxi entered flooded Texas road](/incidents/recall-2026-05-13-waymo.md) (2026-05-13): Recall · severity: moderate · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Waymo recalls 3800 robotaxis after vehicle drove into flooded roadway](/incidents/recall-2026-05-12-waymo.md) (2026-05-12): Recall · severity: serious · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [ADS Software May Allow Vehicle to Drive onto a Flooded Roadway](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-26e026000.md) (2026-05-01): Recall · NHTSA
- [NTSB investigates Waymo robotaxis illegally passing stopped school buses](/incidents/regulatory-action-2026-03-15-waymo.md) (2026-03-15): Regulatory action · severity: moderate · NTSB · investigation
- [Waymo robotaxi hits child near elementary school in Santa Monica](/incidents/injury-2026-01-29-waymo.md) (2026-01-29): Injury · severity: serious · NHTSA · inquiry opened
- [NHTSA opens Preliminary Evaluation PE26-001 after a Waymo robotaxi struck a child near a Santa Monica school](/incidents/waymo-santa-monica-child-strike-pe26001-2026.md) (2026-01-29): Regulatory action · severity: serious · NHTSA ODI · investigation
- [Waymo 'Ojai' vehicle in manual mode crashes into multiple parked cars in Echo Park, Los Angeles](/incidents/collision-2026-01-25-waymo.md) (2026-01-25): Collision · severity: moderate · none
- [Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school, NHTSA opens investigation](/incidents/collision-2026-01-24-waymo.md) (2026-01-24): Collision · severity: serious · NHTSA · inquiry opened
- [Waymo driverless robotaxi struck a child near Santa Monica elementary school, prompting NHTSA preliminary evaluation](/incidents/collision-2026-01-23-waymo.md) (2026-01-23): Collision · severity: moderate · NHTSA · investigation
- [NTSB opens an investigation into Waymo robotaxis illegally passing stopped school buses](/incidents/waymo-ntsb-school-bus-passing-investigation-2026.md) (2026-01-23): Regulatory action · severity: serious · NTSB · investigation
- [Waymo recalls 3,067 ADS vehicles (NHTSA 25E-084) over passing stopped school buses](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-school-bus-recall-2025.md) (2025-12-08): Recall · severity: serious · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Vehicle May Pass a Stopped School Bus](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-25e084000.md) (2025-12-08): Recall · NHTSA
- [NHTSA opens defects investigation PE25012 into Waymo 5th-gen ADS (Oct 2025)](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-pe25012-investigation-2025.md) (2025-10-08): Regulatory action · severity: serious · NHTSA · investigation
- [Waymo recalls 1,212 robotaxis over low-speed collisions with gates, chains and barriers](/incidents/waymo-barrier-collision-recall-2025.md) (2025-05-13): Recall · severity: minor · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [Software May Cause Vehicle to Hit Roadway Barrier](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-25e034000.md) (2025-05-12): Recall · NHTSA
- [Waymo robotaxi and Serve Robotics delivery robot collided in West Hollywood (Dec 2024)](/incidents/waymo-serve-weho-collision-2024-12-27.md) (2024-12-27): Collision · severity: minor
- [Waymo recalls 672 vehicles after a robotaxi struck a utility pole in Phoenix](/incidents/waymo-pole-collision-recall-2024.md) (2024-06-12): Recall · severity: minor · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [ADS Software Error May Cause Crash](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-24e049000.md) (2024-06-10): Recall · NHTSA
- [NHTSA opens a probe into Waymo's 5th-gen ADS after reports of unexpected driving behavior](/incidents/waymo-nhtsa-odi-investigation-2024.md) (2024-05-13): Regulatory action · severity: moderate · NHTSA ODI · investigation
- [Waymo recalls 444 ADS vehicles (NHTSA 24E-013) over towed-vehicle misprediction](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-towed-vehicle-recall-2024.md) (2024-02-13): Recall · severity: minor · NHTSA · recall ordered
- [ADS Software Error May Cause Crash](/incidents/nhtsa-waymo-recall-24e013000.md) (2024-02-13): Recall · NHTSA
- [Waymo robotaxi collides with pickup truck in San Francisco (Feb 2024)](/incidents/waymo-sf-pickup-collision-2024-02-11.md) (2024-02-11): Collision

## Exposure

DEPLOY does not have exposure data (deployment-hours, miles driven, or rides given) on file for Waymo's 12 recorded deployment(s). No incident count above can be turned into a defensible rate without it. NHTSA's SGO dataset itself does not publish exposure denominators; there is no standardized, regulator-verified nationwide source for AV fleet mileage or ride counts today.

## A note on NHTSA's crash-reporting data

Many of the incidents below are drawn from NHTSA's Standing General Order (SGO) 2021-01 crash-reporting program, which requires manufacturers and operators of automated driving systems (ADS) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to report qualifying crashes. It is the only nationwide, cross-operator crash dataset that exists for this industry, and it is also, by NHTSA's own design and Consumer Reports' public assessment, an imperfect one.

Reporting companies may redact narrative fields as confidential business information (CBI). In practice this means narrative completeness is uneven across manufacturers in the underlying dataset: some incident reports read as full prose descriptions of what happened, others are replaced with boilerplate redacted text. This is a property of the source data, not of DEPLOY's editorial process; DEPLOY publishes what the filing discloses and states plainly when a fuller account is not publicly available.

The SGO dataset also does not publish exposure denominators (miles driven, hours operated, rides given) alongside crash counts, so a raw incident count cannot be turned into a rate without an independently sourced denominator. See "Exposure" below for what DEPLOY does and does not have on file for this company.

- [NHTSA: Standing General Order on Crash Reporting](https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/standing-general-order-crash-reporting)
- [Consumer Reports: comments to NHTSA on incident reporting for ADS and Level 2 ADAS](https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/research/consumer-reports-comments-to-nhtsa-on-incident-reporting-for-automated-driving-systems-and-level-2-adas/)
- [Consumer Reports: statement on crash-reporting underreporting](https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/transportation-department-keeps-in-place-vital-car-crash-reporting-program-but-misses-chance-to-address-underreporting-consumer-reports-statement/)

## Common questions

**What is Waymo's safety record?**

DEPLOY has 33 incidents on file for Waymo, drawn from NHTSA's Standing General Order crash-reporting program and press coverage. Each incident below is individually sourced and dated; see the incident list for details.

**Is Waymo safer than a human driver?**

DEPLOY does not have exposure data (miles driven or hours operated) on file for Waymo, so no per-mile or per-hour safety rate can be computed from this registry today. This is a documented industry-wide data gap, not unique to DEPLOY: NHTSA's own SGO dataset does not publish exposure denominators alongside crash counts. Any rate comparison you see elsewhere may rely on a company's self-published mileage figures, which are not independently audited.

**Does DEPLOY redact or omit crash details for Waymo?**

No. DEPLOY does not redact incident narratives. Where a source narrative is itself incomplete (for example, a NHTSA SGO filing redacted as confidential business information), DEPLOY states that plainly rather than filling the gap. See "A note on NHTSA's crash-reporting data" below.


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