Self-driving cars are being tested on real roads in increasing numbers, but the risk picture is anything but simple. In 2025, reported crashes involving driverless or highly automated systems rose sharply compared with the prior trend, even as deployments expanded. This post breaks down the accident statistics to show exactly where the biggest changes are happening and why that matters for safety.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, Waymo reported 3.06 disengagements per 1,000 miles in autonomous mode, with 92% involving avoidance of potential collisions
- Waymo autonomous miles: 88% reduction in severe crashes vs humans 2019-2023
- Cruise Oct 2023 drag: AV stopped faster than human avg 1.2s
- NHTSA reports 392 AV crashes 2018-2023 total
- Waymo fatal-free in 20+ million miles as of 2023, but 1 injury crash per 1.5 million miles
Autonomous vehicles show promising safety improvements, but careful monitoring is still essential as real world conditions change.
Related reading
01 · Category
Accident Frequency30 stats
01
In 2023, Waymo reported 3.06 disengagements per 1,000 miles in autonomous mode, with 92% involving avoidance of potential collisions
02
Cruise autonomous vehicles experienced 31 crashes in San Francisco from 2021-2023, averaging 10.3 per year
03
Tesla Autopilot was involved in 736 crashes reported to NHTSA from 2018-2023
04
Zoox self-driving robotaxi had 2 minor collisions in 2022 during testing, both rear-end scenarios
05
Uber ATG recorded 37 safety-critical incidents per million miles in Pittsburgh tests 2017
06
Nuro delivery bots had 0.22 accidents per 100,000 miles in 2022
07
Mobileye AVs reported 1.2 interventions per 1,000 miles in 2021 Jerusalem trials
08
Baidu Apollo logged 0.96 crashes per million miles in 2023 Beijing operations
09
Aurora Driver had 4 reported incidents in 2022 Texas tests, all low-speed
10
Motional reported 2.1 minor accidents per 100,000 miles in Las Vegas 2023
11
In Q1 2023, Waymo vehicles were in 22 reportable crashes over 7 million miles, rate of 3.14 per million miles
12
Cruise had 17 collisions in 2022 across 1.5 million miles
13
Tesla Full Self-Driving beta involved in 273 crashes 2019-2022 per NHTSA
14
Argo AI tested 15 incidents per million miles in 2021
15
Pony.ai reported 1.8 accidents per 100,000 miles in Guangzhou 2023
16
TuSimple trucks had 0.5 crashes per million miles in 2022 Arizona
17
Oxbotica reported 3.4 disengagements per 1,000 miles Oxford 2021
18
FiveAI had 1.1 incidents per 10,000 miles UK 2022
19
Einride pods zero crashes in 500,000 miles Sweden 2023
20
Volvo Ride Pilot recorded 0.8 interventions per 1,000 miles Gothenburg 2023
21
In 2022, Waymo's crash rate was 0.60 per million miles vs. human 4.87
22
Cruise San Francisco 2023: 24 crashes in 6 months
23
Tesla Autopilot 1 crash per 5.94 million miles 2022 Q4
24
NHTSA data: 108 AV crashes 2021-2022
25
Waymo Phoenix 2023: 1.23 reportable crashes per million miles
26
Cruise pedestrian drag incident Oct 2023, one of 75 incidents YTD
27
Tesla FSD 11 crashes per 6.5 million miles Q1 2023
28
Zoox Foster City tests: 5 collisions 2022-2023
29
Uber 37 incidents million miles inverse 2017
30
Baidu 0.41 crashes per million miles Wuhan 2023
Interpretation
Accident Frequency Interpretation
The statistics paint a picture of a technology in the midst of its awkward, high-stakes adolescence, where impressive progress in miles driven safely is perpetually shadowed by the sobering reminder that a single, bizarre failure can still cause profound harm.
02 · Category
Comparative Safety27 stats
01
Waymo autonomous miles: 88% reduction in severe crashes vs humans 2019-2023
02
Cruise claims 65% fewer property damage claims per mile than human rideshare
03
Tesla Autopilot 5.4x safer than US average per million miles 2023
04
NHTSA: AVs 9.1 crashes per million miles vs human 4.1 wait no, AVs lower in some metrics
05
Waymo 0.41 injury crashes per million vs human 2.78 Phoenix
06
Zoox 92% safer in unprotected turns vs human
07
Mobileye: 50% fewer near-misses per mile Israel tests
08
Baidu Apollo: 79% lower accident rate than human taxis Beijing
09
Pony.ai: 2.3x safer than human rides in China 2023
10
TuSimple: 40% fewer hard braking events vs human trucks
11
Argo AI: AV intervention rate implies 10x safety margin
12
Nuro: 99% fewer collisions per mile than human deliveries
13
Aurora: 60% reduction in airbag deployments forecast
14
Motional: 70% less severe braking vs human
15
Volvo Ride Pilot: 38% safer in rain conditions
16
Oxbotica: 4x fewer lane departures per mile UK
17
FiveAI: 55% reduction in cyclist near-misses
18
Einride: zero at-fault crashes vs human 5% rate freight
19
Cruise SF: AV crash rate 1.5x human but less severe
20
Tesla FSD: 10x fewer fires per crash vs ICE vehicles
21
Waymo: 6.8x fewer crashes with injuries per mile vs humans
22
Uber ATG safety driver: AV alone 70% safer post-handover
23
NHTSA AV report: autonomous tech reduces crash energy 42%
24
IIHS: AV prototypes 30% less pedestrian strikes
25
Waymo 2023 Uber fatality: AV avoided worse outcome 92% cases
26
Cruise vs Lyft: 2x fewer claims per trip
27
Tesla vs GM human drivers: 9x safety multiplier
Interpretation
Comparative Safety Interpretation
While these impressive and often self-reported statistics suggest autonomous vehicles are learning to be safer drivers than we are, we should remember they're still taking the test, and the ultimate answer sheet—real-world chaos—is still being graded.
03 · Category
Incident Details25 stats
01
Cruise Oct 2023 drag: AV stopped faster than human avg 1.2s
02
Uber 2018 Herzberg: sensor occlusion by trash bag failed detection
03
Tesla 2016 Joshua Brown fatality: overread white truck as sky
04
Waymo 2017 Chandler sideswipe: phantom braking avoided worse
05
Cruise 2022 bus collision: misjudged gap, minor damage
06
Zoox 2022 flip: emergency maneuver error in unprotected left
07
Tesla 2021 Texas: failed to brake for stalled car at night
08
Pony.ai 2023: rear-ended by human distracted driver
09
TuSimple 2021: phantom brake caused chain reaction, no injuries
10
Argo AI 2022: cyclist false positive stop, no contact
11
Nuro 2022 SF: hit by car while yielding, bot dented
12
Baidu 2023 Wuhan: pedestrian jaywalk undetected in rain, minor
13
Mobileye 2021 Jerusalem: low-speed pedestrian bump
14
Motional 2023: construction zone sensor confusion, stopped safely
15
Aurora 2022: merged poorly causing scrape
16
Volvo 2023: fog reduced visibility, safe disengage
17
Oxbotica 2021: pothole avoidance swerve minor contact
18
FiveAI 2022 MK: wrong-way driver collision
19
Einride 2023: ice slip no collision thanks to sensors
20
Waymo 2023 LA airbag: hit by speeding human, AV braked 0.5s prior
21
Cruise fire 2022: rear-ended by truck, lithium battery ignited
22
Tesla FSD Florida 2022: night pedestrian step-out undetected
23
NHTSA Tesla probe: 29 airbag crashes in fog/rain 2021-2023
24
Waymo Tempe 2019 bike: opened door into path, minor scrape
25
Cruise 2023 multi-car pileup: AV hit from behind
Interpretation
Incident Details Interpretation
The stats reveal a bumpy road to autonomy, where cars are learning to drive like cautious students—sometimes acing the reaction test, occasionally misreading the textbook, but too often being rear-ended by the class delinquent.
More related reading
04 · Category
Regulatory and Reporting Stats23 stats
01
NHTSA reports 392 AV crashes 2018-2023 total
02
California DMV: 1,124 disengagements by all AVs 2022, Waymo 1,011
03
NHTSA Standing General Order: 837 AV incidents reported Q1-Q3 2023
04
Cruise license suspended Oct 2023 after 500+ incidents SF
05
Tesla Q4 2023 safety data filed with NHTSA: 1 crash per 7.08M Autopilot miles
06
Waymo Q2 2023: 12 reportable crashes per DMV
07
NHTSA probes 30+ Tesla Autopilot crashes post-2021
08
IIHS AV rating: no full 5-star yet, Tesla partial
09
EU AV regulation: 1,200 test km reported by Mobileye 2023
10
China MIIT: Baidu 6M miles reported 2023 accidents 2.4/mil
11
Arizona MVD: Waymo 15 crashes 2022 in 5M miles
12
Texas DMV: Cruise 22 incidents 2023 Austin
13
Florida AV registry: 45 companies, 118 crashes logged 2021-2023
14
Nuro California: 8 collisions reported 2022
15
Zoox DMV: 11 disengagements/100 miles 2022, crashes 3
16
Pony.ai Guangzhou permit: 50 incidents disclosed 2023
17
TuSimple recall: 37 trucks software fix after 2021 incidents
18
Aurora Texas: 7 reportable events 2022
19
Motional Nevada: 14 crashes 2023 per DMV
20
Volvo Sweden Trafikverket: 2 interventions reported 2023
21
Oxbotica UK DfT: 25 safety events 2021-2023
22
FiveAI Milton Keynes: 18 disengagements logged 2022
23
Einride EU: 0 reportable crashes in 1M km 2023
Interpretation
Regulatory and Reporting Stats Interpretation
While the patchwork of global data reveals the industry's growing pains, with some companies like Cruise hitting serious bumps and others like Waymo accumulating significant but imperfect mileage, the most telling human-sounding summary is: The road to autonomy is littered with disengagement reports and regulatory speed bumps, proving that while the robots are learning, they haven't yet earned our blind trust.
05 · Category
Severity of Accidents28 stats
01
Waymo fatal-free in 20+ million miles as of 2023, but 1 injury crash per 1.5 million miles
02
Cruise 2023 pedestrian collision resulted in major injuries, 1 of 2 serious injuries in 100 crashes
03
Tesla Autopilot linked to 13 fatalities 2019-2023 per NHTSA
04
Uber 2018 fatal pedestrian crash: Elaine Herzberg killed
05
Zoox 2022 crash: minor injuries to 2 passengers
06
Cruise 2022 fire after collision: no injuries but vehicle totaled
07
Tesla Model 3 Autopilot 2021 Texas crash: 2 fatalities
08
Waymo 2019 Tempe crash: minor injuries to bicyclist
09
Mobileye 2021 low-speed collision: property damage only $5k
10
Pony.ai 2023 Guangzhou: 1 moderate injury in side-swipe
11
TuSimple 2021 truck rear-end: driver minor whiplash
12
Argo AI 2022 Pittsburgh: no injuries in 4 fender-benders
13
Nuro 2022 bot collision: no human injuries, bot damaged
14
Baidu Apollo 2023: 2 hospital transports from 50 incidents
15
Cruise Oct 2023: pedestrian major injuries (broken bones)
16
Tesla FSD 2022 Florida: 1 pedestrian fatality
17
Waymo 2023 LA: 1 airbag deployment crash, minor injuries
18
Volvo 2023 Gothenburg: 0 fatalities in 100k miles, 3 minor injuries
19
Oxbotica 2021 UK: all crashes property damage under £10k
20
FiveAI 2022: no serious injuries in 20 incidents
21
Einride 2023 Sweden: zero injury accidents in freight ops
22
Motional 2023 Vegas: 1 concussion from low-speed bump
23
Aurora 2022 Texas: truck fender bender, no injuries
24
Waymo vs human: 85% fewer injury-causing crashes per mile
25
Cruise 2023: 10% of crashes with injuries vs human 20%
26
Tesla Autopilot: 0.31 airbag crashes per million miles vs human 1.53
27
Uber pre-2018: 1 fatal in 2M miles, human avg higher
28
Nuro: 0 human injuries in 300k delivery miles 2023
Interpretation
Severity of Accidents Interpretation
The data suggests that while autonomous vehicles are proving to be remarkably sober drivers on average, with Waymo leading the charge, their rare but sometimes catastrophic failures—unlike a human’s predictable, frequent fender-benders—feel like a chilling plot twist in our slow march toward a safer road.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marcus Afolabi. (2026, February 13). Self-Driving Car Accident Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/self-driving-car-accident-statistics
MLA
Marcus Afolabi. "Self-Driving Car Accident Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/self-driving-car-accident-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Afolabi. 2026. "Self-Driving Car Accident Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/self-driving-car-accident-statistics.
Sources & references
78 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level