How Many Self-driving Cars Have Crashed

With the increase in self-driving cars on the streets, the prevalence of incidents and crashes involving them has also increased. In the United States, there have been over 3,000 incidents involving self-driving cars. However, cumulating global self-driving car crash reports is a lot more difficult, especially with limited worldwide statistics.

In this article, we will discuss self-driving car crashes, why they happen, how they happen, and which autonomous car companies have the most crashes.

General Self-driving Crash Statistics

2022 had the most self-driving accidents, with over 1,400 accidents.
4.8% of total reported autonomous car crashes have resulted in fatality.
California is the US state with the most self-driving crashes.
Over 3,000 self-driving incidents have been reported to the NHTSA in the US.
In January 2023, Mercedes-Benz received government approval for a Level 3 driving feature, allowing the car to do all the driving.
Human error accounts for over 90% of car crashes.
North America owns about 29% of all self-driving cars globally.

Self-driving Car Market Statistics

The global self-driving car market is expected to reach over $40 trillion by 2025.
The European autonomous car market is estimated to reach over $20 billion by 2030.
The self-driving car market in North America is projected to reach over $24 billion by 2030.
By 2030, one in four cars will be automated.

Self-driving Accidents per Year

Only 4 self-driving car accidents were reported in 2019, compared to 25 in 2020, 641 in 2021, 1,450 in 2022, and 1,353 in 2023. Over 200 self-driving crashes were reported in 2024 through June.

Number of Crashes Per Self-Driving Car Company

Most self-driving cars deploy either with Automated Driving Systems (ADS) or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), with the former designed to work with little to no human interaction.

Tesla vehicles use the ADAS system, and they were involved with over 50% of the self-driving crashes reported to the NHTSA from June 2021 to June 2024.
Waymo LLC, owned by a Google subsidiary, Alphabet, led the pack for ADS car crashes, with 415 incidents from 2021 to 2024.
General Motors LLC uses both the ADS and ADAS systems and reported 219 crashes from 2021 to 2024.
Other top self-driving car companies with crashes include Cruise LLC with 187, Transdev Alternative Services with 159, Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) with 155, Subaru of America, Inc. with 92, Zoox, Inc. with 75, Toyota Motor Engineering & manufacturing with 63, Ford Motor Company with 58, and BMW of North America, LLC with 44.
General Motors' AV subsidiary Cruise had its driverless testing permits suspended in 2023 after a pedestrian accident.

Learn more: Driving Statistics and Facts

Self-driving Accidents by Location

California has the highest number of reported self-driving car crashes, with 1,677, followed by Texas with 370, Arizona with 269, Florida with 241, New York with 122, and New Jersey with 106.

Self-driving Accident Causes

In 2018, an Uber self-driving test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, in Arizona. The vehicle’s radar did not register the pedestrian’s body, and the driver was engaged with his phone. This incident was the first fatality involving a fully autonomous car.
In 2019, a Tesla Model X with the engaged autopilot feature veered out of the lane, accelerated, and crashed into a barrier at 70mph, killing the driver.
Over 350 of the reported self-driving crashes involved a collision with a fixed object, 385 involved a collision with a passenger car, and 168 with an SUV.
More than 60% of self-driving car crashes were mostly rear-end collisions, with over 20% being side-swipe accidents.
There are several faults with autonomous cars, including software malfunctions, faulty sensors, and poor mapping data.

Fatalities and Injuries

While self-driving cars have been involved in many crashes, the fatalities remain low. Of the 3,979 self-driving car incidents reported from 2019 to June 2024, 1,225 resulted in no injuries, 264 in minor injuries, 91 in moderate injuries, 58 in serious injuries, and 83 in fatalities.

Self-Driving Cars Perception and Safety Concerns

The American Automobile Association (AAA) found that over 65% of people were afraid to ride in a fully self-driving car in 2024.
About 50% of people are comfortable with self-driving cars at low speeds and for short distances.
Over 50% of Americans believe that most cars will be able to drive themselves by 2029.
About 43% of Americans don’t feel safe in self-driving cars.
Globally, 50% of people would not feel safe with self-driving cars, and 45% would rather always be in control.
Over 70% of Americans want Congress to stop self-driving cars.
More than 60% of Tesla customers have lost trust in the company after the technological issues.

Self-Driving Car Crashes vs Human Car Crashes

Self-driving cars have 9.1 crashes per million miles, while regular human-driven cars have 4.1 crashes per million miles.

This means that self-driving cars are twice as likely to get into crashes as regular cars.

However, these rates use data up to 2021. Plus, there is not enough data to compare whether self-driving cars are safer than human drivers.

Sources World Economic Forum American Automobile Association Statista National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National Law Revie