What NHTSA’s Latest Robotaxi Crash Data Shows

An analysis of NHTSA’s Standing General Order crash reports counts 1,436 distinct reported incidents involving automated driving systems (ADS), including 292 in Texas. The release covers reports received through August 17, 2026. These self-driving car accident statistics are crash counts, not safety rates or findings of fault.

The robotaxi crash data also includes testing vehicles, shuttles, delivery vehicles, and trucks.

What the Latest NHTSA Automated Driving System Crash Reports Count

The analysis counts 1,436 incidents from June 2025 through July 2026, plus 11 from August 2026, although August data is incomplete. 

Structured crash dates identify months, not exact days. The data retains each report’s latest version and removes duplicate incidents reported by two companies.

Quarterly counts were:

• 194 in Q3 2025
• 318 in Q4 2025
• 354 in Q1 2026
• 386 in Q2 2026

July-to-July counts rose from 66 to 113, an increase of about 71%.

Why a Crash Count Is Not a Safety Rate

The file has no miles-driven denominator, so these counts cannot establish whether risk rose or fell, nor can it rank companies by safety. Changing operations could affect counts, but the data does not establish the cause of the increase. June 2025 was a reporting-regime transition month, making it a poor baseline.

NHTSA’s data dictionary and release log explains the fields and distinguishes the reporting cutoff from incident dates.

Which Companies and Places Appear Most Often

Waymo is the reporting entity for 1,211 incidents (84.3%). Other reporting entities are Avride (79), Zoox (64), Tesla (26), May Mobility (18), Motional (11), Nuro (7), Aurora (7), Beep (4), and Stack AV (2).

MOIA, Gatik, PlusAI, WeRide, Ohmio, Oxbotica, and Hyundai each account for one incident. The shared Hyundai/Motional incident is counted under Hyundai, although Motional operated the vehicle.

In terms of where the incident occurred, California (766), Texas (292), and Arizona (196) together account for 1,254 incidents, or about 87%. These concentrations do not establish comparative risk. Other locations are Georgia (75), Nevada (40), Florida (38), Tennessee (9), Washington, D.C. (6), Pennsylvania (5), Colorado (3), New Mexico (2), Minnesota (2), and Arkansas (1). One incident has no state listed.

What the Data Says About Texas Accidents

Austin has 189 reported incidents, third among the dataset’s city labels, behind San Francisco (378) and Los Angeles (247) and ahead of Phoenix (109). Dallas has 66 incidents and Houston 19.

Other cities include Atlanta (72), Tempe (43), Las Vegas (34), Scottsdale (27), Miami (22), and Santa Monica (19). These are reported city labels, not metropolitan-area totals.

Eleven reported incidents involve ADS heavy trucks: Aurora (7), Stack AV (2), Gatik (1), and PlusAI (1). Seven were in Texas. Reported speeds ranged from 7 to 65 mph, with a median of 35 mph; five were at least 55 mph. Ten records report no injury, and one lists severity as unknown.

What Companies Reported About the Incidents

Companies described the ADS vehicle as stopped or parked in 733 incidents (51%) and traveling below 10 mph in 1,088 (about 77%). These figures do not establish the other vehicle’s speed, impact force, or fault.

Movement: Stopped (616); parked (117); going straight (502); turning left (58); turning right (37); changing lanes (35); passing (20); backing up (20); other (31). In 227 stopped or parked incidents, the rear contact-area field was checked. That coding does not establish a rear-end crash sequence.

Speed: 0 mph (744); 1 to 9 mph (344); 10 to 24 mph (241); 25 to 44 mph (90); 45 mph or faster (17). The maximum was 65 mph.

Crash partner: Passenger cars (458); SUVs (341); pickups (160); heavy trucks (139); buses (53); vans (47); fixed objects (70); motorcycles (15); cyclists (14); animals (12); emergency vehicles (9); scooters or skateboards (5); pedestrians (4); other (109). These selected categories are not person-level injury counts.

Road setting: Streets (1,014); intersections (278); parking lots (112); highways/freeways (27); other (5).

Reported local time: Noon to 6 p.m. (481); 6 p.m. to midnight (384); 6 a.m. to noon (354); midnight to 6 a.m. (217).

Weather: Clear (1,063); cloudy (203); partly cloudy (118); rain (59). Weather categories can overlap. Without exposure data, these autonomous vehicle accident statistics cannot establish which conditions are more dangerous.

How Many Incidents Alleged Injuries or Deaths

The data shows that 141 incidents (9.8%) alleged an injury, including two fatal incidents. Another 1,272 reported no injury, and 23 reported unknown. These numbers represent incidents, not injured people, and “no injury reported” does not prove nobody was hurt.

Airbags reportedly deployed in a vehicle in 74 incidents, including the ADS vehicle’s airbags in 26 incidents.

What Waymo Reported About the Fatal Incidents

According to Waymo’s report, in Tempe in September 2025, one of its vehicles slowed to turn right while yielding to a pedestrian. A motorcycle hit the vehicle’s rear-left corner, the rider fell into the road, and a passing car struck the rider and left. Waymo reported the vehicle’s speed as 8 mph and said the rider later died at a hospital.

According to Waymo’s report, in Dallas in August 2026, one of its vehicles slowed for a pedestrian walking in the opposite lanes of Maple Avenue. An oncoming SUV struck the pedestrian, who hit the ground and then the Waymo’s rear-left area. Waymo reported that the vehicle was moving at about 5 mph, and alleged a fatal injury.

These are company accounts, not findings of fault. The Dallas incident belongs to the incomplete August data, outside the June 2025 through July 2026 subtotal.

What a Report Can Show in a Texas Injury Case

NHTSA autonomous vehicle crash data can identify an incident, a company’s account, and possible evidence. It cannot decide fault or prove that account.

Who Must Report and When

The NHTSA’s Third Amended Standing General Order 2021-01, effective June 16, 2025, imposes duties on manufacturers and operators, not injured consumers, to report the incident. Qualifying incidents must occur on publicly accessible U.S. roads, with system engagement or attempted engagement from 30 seconds before the crash’s beginning through its conclusion. The robotaxi company must report incidents about which it received notice at least 10 calendar days after first being served with General Order 2021-01.

• Five calendar days after notice: Death, hospital transport for injury treatment, a vulnerable road user struck, airbag deployment, or tow-away triggers reporting. Outcomes involving other participants count; ordinary injury alone is not the hospital trigger.
• The following month’s 15th after notice: Other ADS property-damage incidents qualify when expected damage exceeds $1,000, or when damage is $1,000 or less and the subject vehicle alone was involved or struck another vehicle/object.
• The following month’s 15th: Material changes to specified fields in a prior five-day report require an update.

Weekend or holiday extensions do not apply to five-day reports. The retained versions comprise 731 Five-Day, 672 Monthly, and 33 Update reports. An update replaces an earlier version; it is not another crash or a separate severity class.

What Evidence the Reports Identify

Companies flagged video availability in 1,425 incidents, telematics in 1,391, and police reports in 30. The public file contains neither video nor telemetry, and availability flags do not establish public access, preservation, or access in a particular case.

The data also shows whether an automated driving system was engaged. It lists 1,392 verified engaged systems, 40 verified not engaged, 2 alleged engaged, and 2 unknown. This covers the reporting window, not necessarily automated control at impact.

A case investigation can compare the company narrative with your account, witnesses, police materials, medical records, and lawfully obtained vehicle data. Texas car accident lawyers can help assess that evidence and the questions a company report leaves unanswered.

Talk With Angel Reyes & Associates About a Robotaxi Crash

If you were injured in a self-driving vehicle crash in Texas, Angel Reyes & Associates can review your account and available evidence. A company-filed NHTSA report, when one exists, can provide an early starting point for that investigation and support your robotaxi accident claim. With 30 locations throughout Texas, our team is available 24/7 to discuss your case.

Contact Angel Reyes & Associates for a free consultation.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.