Data Analysis: Fault in Autonomous Vehicle Accidents (2021-2025)

As autonomous vehicle (AV) companies like Waymo expand across the nation, accidents involving AVs are on the rise. With commercial AV operations currently spanning five states and testing underway in many more, the data is still in its early stages compared to the vast scale of traditional car accident statistics. However, analysis is already possible.

Headlines citing ‘thousands of AV accidents’ can be alarming, but context matters. Dulin McQuinng Young analyzed NHTSA data to better understand what these numbers actually mean.

The question remains: Are self-driving cars safer than human drivers?

The Data

The data analysis below contains all available ADS vehicle incident data from 2021 through 2025. 

ADS (Automated Driving System) performs the entire driving task without human intervention (SAE automation levels 3-5), unlike ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), which only assists drivers (level 1-2).

The NHTSA data contains 2,081 total ADS incident reports, but only 2,052 have a narrative explaining what happened. We analyzed these 2,052 incidents to understand who was at fault.

Quick Links

• Fault in AV Accidents
• Accidents Caused by AVs
• Injuries Caused by AVs
• Which AV Companies Are Crashing?
• Self-Driving Car Accident Timeline
• Waymo Accidents
• Tesla Accidents

How Many Self-Driving Car Accidents Have There Been?

There have been 2,081 autonomous vehicle accidents from 2021-2025.

Who is At Fault in Autonomous Vehicle Accidents?

Of the 2,052 autonomous vehicle (AV) incidents reported to the NHTSA that contain narratives, here is a breakdown of who was determined to be at fault:

When accidents involved other road users, AVs were solely at fault in only 4% of cases, and shared fault in an additional 2% of cases.

What Types of Accidents Are Self-Driving Cars Causing?

The following table breaks down the accidents that were caused by an autonomous vehicle. It does not include shared fault incidents.

Autonomous Vehicle System Failures

Of the incidents caused solely by an autonomous vehicle, six were due to a system error:

• False Obstacle Detection: An autonomous vehicle’s lidar misidentified exhaust fumes from stopped traffic as a solid obstacle. The system attempted a lane adjustment, then executed a hard stop. A following vehicle was unable to stop in time and struck the rear of the AV at low speed.
• Object Misclassification: In light snow, an AV running experimental software misclassified a speed limit sign as a pedestrian in its projected path, triggering unnecessary hard braking. A trailing vehicle traveling at similar speed reacted too late and struck the AV from behind.
• Mapping Inaccuracy: While making a turn at 16 mph, the AV was tracking abnormally close to parked vehicles due to an inaccurate onboard map. The safety driver disengaged autonomous mode and took manual control, but the AV’s right-side sensor pod still clipped the side mirror of a parked car during the turn.
• Hardware Input Failure: While manually steering around a parked vehicle blocking its path, a Navya ARMA shuttle became unresponsive to control input when its Xbox 360 controller failed, sending constant left-turn signal to the drive system. The shuttle veered left and struck a parked vehicle at low speed before the system recognized the controller failure. Six passengers disembarked without injury.
• Lidar Latency + Road Misinterpretation: A Waymo vehicle sideswiped a parked car’s mirror while navigating a narrow, unmarked residential road with vehicles parked on the right. Two software issues contributed to the collision: a ground mapping delay that caused the parked truck to be inconsistently detected, and a constraint that kept the vehicle artificially close to the right side of the road on ambiguous unmarked roads.
• Pedestrian Detection Failure: While the Cruise dragging incident was not initially triggered by a system failure — the pedestrian was first struck by another vehicle and thrown into the AV’s path — it’s included here because the AV’s failure to properly detect the pedestrian beneath the vehicle led it to continue driving, significantly worsening the injuries.

What Injuries Have Been Caused by Autonomous Vehicles?

Of all incidents where the AV was at fault or shared fault, 35 injuries or fatalities were reported.

Here’s a breakdown: 

• 21 animal injuries or fatalities
• 4 cyclist injuries
• 3 AV test driver/operator injuries
• 2 pedestrian injuries
• 2 AV passenger injuries
• 2 scooterist injuries
• 1 other driver injury

There have been no human fatalities caused by an AV.

Animals account for 60% of all injuries or fatalities in incidents caused by AVs.

Full List of Injuries (AV at Fault or Shared Fault)

Animals (21)

• Dog fatality: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck a small dog that ran into the street
• Cat fatality: Waymo AV in Phoenix struck a cat that entered street from curb
• Animal fatality: Cruise AV in driverless mode struck small animal in driving lane
• Animal fatality: Waymo AV in Tempe, AZ struck domestic animal that emerged from a gap in stopped traffic
• Raccoon injury or fatality: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck a raccoon
• Cat fatality: Waymo AV in Arizona struck a cat that ran into the roadway
• Dog fatality: Waymo AV in Phoenix struck a domestic dog that ran into the street
• Cat fatality: Waymo AV in San Francisco ran over a cat that had positioned itself under the front corner of the vehicle during a passenger pickup
• Rabbit fatality: Waymo AV in Inglewood, CA struck a rabbit that entered the roadway from between parked cars
• Dog injury or fatality: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck a small dog already lying in the roadway, apparently hit previously by another vehicle
• Deer injury or fatality: Aurora truck struck a deer near Fairfield, TX; operators disengaged autonomy before impact
• Animal injury or fatality: Aurora truck struck small animal near Corsicana, TX; autonomy disengaged before impact
• Animal injury: Waymo AV in Los Angeles struck domestic animal that entered roadway from between parked cars
• Animal injury: Waymo AV in Phoenix struck domestic animal while merging back into right lane after passing parked vehicles
• Dog injury: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck a small dog that ran from between parked cars; heavy braking applied
• Dog injury: Waymo AV in Phoenix struck a dog that ran into its path; heavy braking applied
• Animal injury: Waymo AV in Austin struck domestic animal that emerged from in front of a parked vehicle on a narrow street
• Cat injury: Waymo AV in Austin struck a cat that emerged from behind a parked vehicle on a narrow street
• Animal injury: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck domestic animal in its lane of travel
• Dog injury: Zoox AV in San Francisco struck a dog that chased a ball into the roadway; operator reversed to free dog; injuries alleged after the fact
• Dog injury or fatality: Waymo AV in Phoenix made contact with a dog lying motionless in the lane of travel

Cyclists (4)

• Minor cyclist injury: Waymo AV in Los Angeles contacted a cyclist who entered a crosswalk from an occluded sidewalk as the AV proceeded from a stop sign
• Minor cyclist injury: Waymo AV in San Francisco struck an occluded bicyclist making a sharp left turn from behind a delivery truck
• Cyclist injury (alleged): Cruise AV operator in supervised mode pulled left to avoid a reversing parked vehicle; a cyclist contacted the rear bumper; cyclist claimed injuries the following day
• Cyclist injury: Cruise AV in driverless mode reversed to avoid a trailer blocking the lane; a northbound cyclist contacted the rear of the AV

AV Test Driver/Operators (3)

• Moderate test driver injury: Waymo AV in Atlanta grounded its undercarriage on a raised sidewalk while turning
• Minor operator injury: Bosch/Mercedes AV struck a parked test vehicle at low speed during an automated valet parking demo; minor bumper damage
• Minor test driver injury: Waymo AV in San Francisco grounded its undercarriage on a parking lot entrance while turning

Pedestrians (2)

• Serious pedestrian injury: Cruise AV in driverless mode struck a pedestrian deflected by another car’s hit-and-run; pedestrian transported by EMS
• Pedestrian injury: Waymo AV in Austin was rear-ended by a pickup truck while stopped in a travel lane; impact pushed the AV into a nearby pedestrian, who fell but stood back up; pedestrian later alleged injury

AV Passengers (2)

• Passenger injury: Cruise AV in driverless mode struck by a fire truck running a red light with emergency lights on; passenger transported by EMS
• Minor passenger injury: Waymo AV in Austin experienced front wheel separation causing undercarriage contact with pavement

Scooterists (2)

• Scooterist injury: Cruise AV operator disengaged autonomy to complete a left turn; an electric scooterist contacted the AV; scooterist reported soreness and bruising
• Scooterist injury: Waymo AV in driverless mode struck a plastic crate in the roadway, deflecting it into the path of a scooterist in the adjacent lane; scooterist fell

Other Drivers (1)

• Driver injury (alleged): Cruise AV in supervised mode changed lanes to avoid a double-parked truck; a Honda Civic also maneuvering into the same lane made contact with the AV’s door; driver later claimed injuries

Which AV Companies Are Crashing?

When it comes to the 270 incidents where an AV was at fault or shared fault, here is the breakdown by AV company:

AV Accident Timeline

The chart below shows the number of autonomous vehicle incidents per month. Besides a few dips, incidents continue to increase as more AVs are on the road.

May 2025 had the highest number of incidents so far, with 111 reported.

Waymo Accidents (2021-2025)

Total Waymo accidents: 1,591

As the largest AV operator in the U.S. with around 2,500 vehicles on the road, Waymo unsurprisingly accounts for the highest number of accidents.

Not included in the analysis above is a January 2026 incident where a Waymo vehicle struck a small child in Santa Monica during morning drop-off hours. The child ran into the roadway from behind a double-parked SUV, directly into the vehicle’s path. The Waymo braked hard, slowing from 17 mph to under 6 mph before impact. The child suffered minor injuries and stood up immediately afterward.

NHTSA opened an investigation to assess whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to the school during drop-off hours and the presence of young pedestrians. In response, the California Teamsters Union called on the California Public Utilities Commission to indefinitely suspend Waymo’s operating license in the state.

NHTSA had already opened a prior investigation after reports that Waymo robotaxis were illegally passing stopped school buses, leading Waymo to recall more than 3,000 vehicles in December to update related software.

Tesla Accidents (2021-2025)

Tesla vehicles are classified as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and were therefore not included in the data analysis above. However, below are some basic statistics.

Narratives are unfortunately not available on NHTSA incident reports for Tesla accidents, so fault could not be determined.

Total Tesla Accidents: 2,912

• Fatal Tesla accidents: 55
• Accidents resulting in serious injury: 36
• Accidents resulting in moderate injury: 8
• Accidents resulting in minor injury: 27
• Accidents with no injuries reported: 103
• Injuries unknown: 2,683

With Tesla reporting 2,683 incidents with unknown injury statuses, it’s clear that the dataset is incomplete. The real injury numbers could be far higher.

What Are Teslas Colliding With?

Top 10 States Where Tesla Accidents Occur

Additional Safety Concerns: Looking Ahead

While autonomous vehicles represent a significant step forward in transportation technology, they remain in the early stages of development and come with a range of safety considerations that extend beyond accidents alone. Current AV incidents are largely minor, such as fender benders on surface roads, but as the technology matures and AVs become more prevalent on highways, both the frequency and severity of accidents may increase.

Beyond collisions, other concerns have emerged: there have been documented cases of passengers becoming trapped inside AVs, AVs obstructing emergency vehicles and impeding first responders, and growing questions around cybersecurity and the potential for vehicles to be hacked or remotely compromised. As the industry continues to scale, addressing these challenges will be critical to ensuring that autonomous vehicles can be safely integrated into the broader transportation ecosystem.

Methodology

The dataset was analyzed row by row using an LLM-powered Node.js script, run three times for consistency and verified by a human reviewer. As some incidents involve subjective interpretation, a small margin of error may exist, as is typical in this type of analysis.

For questions on a specific vehicle accident case, our Denver auto accident attorneys can help.