What should I do after a robotaxi or self-driving car crash?

The car is the key witness, and the company holds its recording. Rules differ by state, so after the basics below, see robotaxi crashes in Texas, robotaxi crashes in Florida, or self-driving cars in Illinois.

What should you do right after a robotaxi crash?

Get care, then protect the evidence. These steps apply in every state.

1. Call 911 yourself. Do not assume the car or company called. In Florida, a driverless car is excused from the usual after-crash duties if the owner promptly contacts police or the car can alert police itself (Fla. Stat. § 316.062(5)).
2. Get checked out. Early medical records tie your injuries to the crash.
3. Photograph the vehicle. Company name, vehicle number, plate, damage, and where each car stopped. Fleet cars look alike.
4. Save the trip record. Passengers should screenshot the receipt and ride ID.
5. Note who was inside. Write down whether the car was empty or had riders, a safety monitor, or a safety driver.
6. Demand the data in writing. A lawyer's preservation letter tells the company to keep its video and sensor record. Our guide to getting robotaxi crash video and sensor data lists what to ask for.

How do robotaxi laws compare in Texas, Florida, and Illinois?

Texas and Florida allow driverless service and treat the self-driving system as the operator. Illinois has no law authorizing driverless operation. Deadlines and fault rules are close across all three.

Topic	Texas	Florida	Illinois
Robotaxi service (Oct. 2026)	Yes. Waymo, Tesla, Avride (with an operator aboard), and Zoox operate in Austin; TxDMV authorization enforced since May 28, 2026	Yes. Waymo in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa; Tesla launched in Miami, supervision unconfirmed; Zoox free rides in Miami	No. Waymo is testing in Chicago with human safety drivers
Who the law treats as the operator	The automated driving system, when engaged (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.454(a))	The automated driving system, when engaged, even with no one aboard (Fla. Stat. § 316.85(3)(a))	No law authorizes driverless operation
Required robotaxi insurance	Treated as a rideshare driver (Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.003); $1 million during a prearranged ride (§ 1954.053)	$1 million primary liability plus PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage while logged on to a network or on a prearranged ride, with the system engaged (Fla. Stat. § 627.749(2)(a))	Not applicable; no driverless service is authorized
Injury filing deadline	2 years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003)	2 years for negligence (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a))	2 years (735 ILCS 5/13-202)
Comparative fault bar	No recovery if more than 50% responsible (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33)	No recovery if more than 50% at fault (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6))	No recovery if more than 50% at fault (735 ILCS 5/2-1116)

Service sources: Zoox in Austin and Miami, Reuters (August 2026); Waymo Orlando, ClickOrlando (April 15, 2026); Waymo Tampa, an invite-based rollout since September 1, 2026, Business Observer; Tesla Miami, Reuters (July 6, 2026); Waymo Chicago testing, Axios Chicago (April 23, 2026).

Florida's $1 million minimum applies whenever the robotaxi is logged on, not only during a ride. In Illinois, no driverless service is authorized for now, and Waymo's Chicago testing uses human safety drivers. Deadlines have exceptions, so confirm yours with a lawyer.

Who can be held responsible for a robotaxi crash?

Responsibility follows the cause, and more than one party can share it.

• The operating company, for how it runs the car, including any remote operator.
• The manufacturer, if a software or vehicle defect contributed. After Waymo vehicles passed stopped school buses, Waymo recalled the software on 3,067 vehicles in December 2025, according to NHTSA recall records.
• Another human driver. Many of the crashes Tesla reported involved another driver striking the Tesla.
• The rideshare platform, when it dispatched the ride. Waymo's Austin rides are booked through Uber.
• A safety driver and that driver's employer, in Illinois testing, depending on the facts.

Why does the car's data matter in every state?

Because the robotaxi recorded the crash, the company holds the recording, and no federal law gives you a right to it. Injured people get it through preservation demands and court discovery. The Driver Privacy Act of 2015 makes event data recorder data the vehicle owner's property, retrievable by others only with consent, a court order, or narrow exceptions.

Each state has its own rule for lost evidence, and none beats having the data. A written demand sent in the first days puts the company on notice.

Are robotaxis safer than human drivers?

Waymo's published numbers say its cars crash less, though most of that data comes from Waymo. Through June 2026, Waymo reports 271.3 million rider-only miles and, against human-driver benchmarks over the same miles, 82% fewer injury-causing crashes and 93% fewer pedestrian-injury crashes (Waymo safety impact page, fetched October 10, 2026). An independent IIHS study (July 2026) found 68% fewer police-reportable crashes per mile across four cities, though the Austin rate alone, from a small sample, was 4% higher than human drivers, according to secondary reports of that study.

A good average does not help if you were in one of the crashes. Our robotaxi crash data page follows the reported counts monthly.

Sources

• San Antonio Express-News via GovTech, September 16, 2026: crash totals
• TT News, January 22, 2026: Tesla rides without a safety monitor
• Electrek, June 3, 2026: Tesla Austin metro expansion
• TechCrunch, May 15, 2026 and Electrek, July 20, 2026: remote-operator crashes
• NHTSA PE26003 notice, opened May 6, 2026: Avride operations
• Reuters, August 2026: Zoox service
• WSVN, January 22, 2026: Waymo Miami launch
• ClickOrlando, April 15, 2026: Waymo Orlando
• Business Observer, September 1, 2026: Waymo Tampa
• Reuters, July 6, 2026: Tesla Miami launch
• Chicago Sun-Times, February 25, 2026, Capitol News Illinois, April 7, 2026, and Axios Chicago, April 23, 2026: Illinois status
• NHTSA recall report 25E-084, December 10, 2025: Waymo school-bus software recall
• Waymo Safety Impact, fetched October 10, 2026: Waymo safety figures
• IIHS study, July 2026, as reported: independent safety comparison
• Statutes: Tex. Transp. Code § 545.454(a); Tex. Ins. Code §§ 1954.003 and 1954.053; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 and ch. 33; Fla. Stat. §§ 316.062(5), 316.85, 627.749(2)(a), 768.81(6), and 95.11(5)(a); 735 ILCS 5/13-202; 735 ILCS 5/2-1116
• Federal EDR ownership rule: Driver Privacy Act of 2015

Working with GB Law

Gianna Scatchell Basile is licensed to practice law in Illinois. GB Law does not represent clients in Texas or Florida. If you were hurt in a crash outside Illinois, we can help you find a lawyer licensed where it happened. If we refer your matter to another firm or work on it with one, we will tell you who that lawyer is and how any fee is divided before you sign anything, and you must agree to it in writing.

Questions people ask

Can I sue a robotaxi company if no one was driving?

Yes. An empty driver's seat does not end the case. Texas and Florida both treat the automated driving system as the operator when it is engaged (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.454(a); Fla. Stat. § 316.85(3)(a)). A claim can be brought against the company responsible for the vehicle and, if a defect played a role, against the manufacturer. Trip records help identify who owns, operates, and built the car.

Is Tesla's robotaxi service driverless everywhere it operates?

Not as far as public reports show. Tesla began rides with no safety monitor in Austin on January 22, 2026, with a few vehicles, according to TT News. Tesla said unsupervised service covered the Austin metro on June 3, 2026, though trackers counted only about 20 unsupervised vehicles, according to Electrek. Tesla has not confirmed whether its Florida rides are supervised.

How many robotaxi crashes have been reported?

In Austin, Waymo reported 135 crashes, Avride 27, and Tesla 23 to NHTSA from June 2025 through August 17, 2026, according to the San Antonio Express-News via GovTech. Raw counts reflect fleet size and miles driven, not fault. Florida figures will be added after our first analysis of NHTSA's data. We found no Chicago robotaxi crashes as of October 2026.

Does it matter if I booked the robotaxi through Uber?

Yes, it can. Waymo's Austin service has been booked through the Uber app since March 2025, so Uber holds trip records that may matter. Texas also treats an automated vehicle as a rideshare driver for insurance purposes (Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.003). Save the receipt and ride ID.

What if the robotaxi was being driven remotely?

The remote operator's actions become part of the case. At least three Tesla crashes involved a remote operator controlling the car, according to TechCrunch and Electrek, and Florida law expressly allows teleoperation (Fla. Stat. § 316.85(5)). A preservation demand should ask for remote-operator logs, communications, and video from the time of the crash.