{"id":30,"date":"2026-05-10T17:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T17:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=30"},"modified":"2026-05-10T17:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T17:34:51","slug":"what-happens-when-a-waymo-is-at-fault-in-a-crash-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=30","title":{"rendered":"What happens when a Waymo is at fault in a crash?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 After some close calls involving driverless Waymos on Arizona roads, Arizona\u2019s Family Investigates set out to answer a simple question: How often are autonomous vehicles at fault in crashes \u2014 and when they are, can they get a ticket?<\/p>\n

Read more Evidence points to human remains at home linked to Kristin Smart\u2019s killing, sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n

The answer isn\u2019t easy to find.<\/p>\n

Federal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows Waymo vehicles were involved in at least 202 crashes in Arizona between 2021 and 2024, ranging from minor scrapes and door dings to 31 crashes that resulted in injuries. But the records are heavily redacted and do not indicate who was at fault.<\/p>\n

Arizona\u2019s Family Investigates spent six months collecting and reviewing police reports on Waymo crashes in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa and Tempe. Of the 71 police-documented crashes involving Waymos, officers determined the self-driving car was not at fault 87% of the time. In 13% of cases, however, police blamed the Waymo vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is a computer\u2019<\/h3>\n

One of those cases involved Jaafar Yaseen, who said a Waymo crossed the double yellow line and struck his vehicle in Old Town Scottsdale in October 2024. \u201cIt is scary,\u201d Yaseen said. \u201cEspecially when I saw it\u2019s Waymo. This is a computer. This is not a human being. This is AI. So it kinda scared me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Waymo, which was carrying a passenger, crossed into the wrong lane and scraped the driver\u2019s side of Yaseen\u2019s car before stopping a short distance down the road, according to the police report and photos from the scene. Photos show the autonomous vehicle stopped in the wrong lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think a human driver would have done this?\u201d I asked Yaseen. \u201cOf course not,\u201d he replied. \u201cEspecially in a crowded situation like this. I\u2019m gonna call it reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waymo launched the world\u2019s first self-driving ride-hailing service in Arizona in late 2020. Since then, the company\u2019s research shows Waymo vehicles are involved in 81% fewer injury crashes and 88% fewer property damage claims than human drivers, . \u201cCollisions will and can occur, and we are absolutely prepared to respond to them,\u201d said Camille Dredge, Waymo\u2019s senior director of ride-hailing operations.<\/p>\n

However, Waymo\u2019s research and the analysis by Arizona\u2019s Family Investigates did not include cases where a confused Waymo caused other vehicles to crash, and the Waymo car wasn\u2019t touched. We found at least one example of this in October near 54th Street and Chandler Road in Chandler.<\/p>\n

Can Waymo cars get a traffic ticket?<\/h3>\n

Arizona\u2019s Family also uncovered cases where Waymo vehicles behaved in ways that officers believed warranted a citation. In 2021, Joel Caspers was rear-ended by a Waymo while stopping for a red light on Chandler Boulevard. \u201cIt totaled the car,\u201d Caspers said. \u201cThey must have been doing 30 [mph], it seemed like, because it knocked us into the center of the intersection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigating officer wrote, \u201cAt this time, [the Waymo] was not issued a citation since the Waymo was in autonomous mode and no person was inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they would have issued the handler a ticket or the corporation a ticket,\u201d Caspers said. \u201cSomebody should have gotten something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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