While the public at large remains fearful of driverless cars, Waymo has been racking up rides at a rate of over one million per month. However, the autonomous taxis don’t have a pristine safety record. Despite the shenanigans that these Jaguar I-Paces can get up to, a recent analysis of crash data that Waymo is legally required to submit shows that people, both drivers and pedestrians, are at fault in most incidents involving the company’s driverless taxis.
Waymo reported its vehicles were in 38 crashes between July 2024 and February 2025, according to Ars Technica. The reports paint a picture that 34 of those incidents were the fault of someone else. Typically, the company submits data for all crashes severe enough to deploy an airbag or cause an alleged injury. The driverless taxis were stationary and hit 16 times. Another seven crashes were caused by drivers rear-ending a cab. Unsurprisingly, three incidents involve a Waymo passenger opening a door into a moving car or cyclist.
Yes, most of us are still afraid of Waymo
What about the four incidents that Waymo could be deemed at fault? In three of the crashes, another vehicle made a left turn into the driverless taxi’s path. Timothy B. Lee wrote for Ars Technica, “Waymo’s summaries make it sound like the other car was at fault in all three cases, but I don’t feel like I have enough information to make a definite judgment.” It’s a different story in our final incident. A Waymo vehicle pushing a plastic crate into the path of a scooter last December in Los Angeles.
The data might show that we are more of a threat to driverless taxis, but they aren’t flawless machines and we won’t forget that. Viral moments from last year, like seeing a Waymo vehicle loop aimlessly around an Arizona roundabout or honking at each other in a San Francisco parking lot, sow the seeds of doubt on the capabilities of these taxis. In the 2025 edition of AAA’s annual survey on autonomous vehicles, 61 percent of respondents stated that they were afraid of self-driving cars. That’s a noticeable decrease compared to the last two years, though. That figure was at 68 percent in 2023 and 66 percent in 2024. The public is slowly warming to autonomous vehicles, but we’re still far from full acceptance.
