Self-driving car accidents in San DiegoNew service, same rights. We handle it.

This page is for anyone hurt in a crash with a driverless car in San Diego: a rider, a person walking or on a bike or motorcycle, the driver of another car, or a family after a death. Public service here is weeks old, so this page is short and we update it as the record grows. The law that applies statewide is on our California self-driving car accident lawyer page and our California autonomous vehicle law page.

San Diego robotaxi status

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) decides whether a company may test or deploy a self-driving car, and its permit holder page lists them. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decides whether a company may carry passengers and charge for it, and its permits page lists Waymo as the only holder of fared driverless authority. Zoox said on September 1, 2026: "As in every new location, we begin by focusing on manual mapping before progressing to autonomous testing."

Waymo's San Diego map

Waymo's September 1, 2026 post says: "Today, we'll begin welcoming our first public riders in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa," and "We'll steadily offer more and more riders Waymo access in these cities." Its help center, checked October 5, 2026, still lists San Diego as "Gradually adding riders." The San Diego map there labels Mission Bay, Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Hillcrest, North Park, Balboa Park, South Park, Little Italy, Downtown and the Gaslamp District. It is a rider service area, not a legal boundary.

Because access is being phased in, a person inside the map may not yet have been able to ride. That matters only to a rider's claim. A person struck while walking, cycling or driving has the same claim whether or not they could have ridden. Waymo's freeway help page says "Freeway access is currently limited, so not all riders can take freeway trips yet."

Authorized versus served

The CPUC approved Waymo's fared driverless service in a much larger area on August 14, 2026. Waymo's request named "the San Diego area (including but not limited to San Diego, Chula Vista)" among the newly added places. Chula Vista does not appear on Waymo's rider map as of October 5, 2026. Authorization tells you where a company may drive, not that a car seen there carried riders. Our self-driving car crash lookup helps identify the company from the car, and our Chula Vista personal injury lawyer page covers crashes there.

San Diego International Airport

Waymo does not serve San Diego International Airport. CPUC rules bar driverless passenger service at an airport without "the express authorization of the relevant airport authority," and the CPUC's list of airport authorizations, checked October 5, 2026, does not include it. Waymo's airport help page does not list it either. A September 14, 2026 city staff report recommends a resolution that "Urges the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority to prohibit driverless vehicle operations at San Diego International Airport."

Local objections on record

Both protests to Waymo's 2026 expansion came from San Diego. The CPUC's August 14, 2026 disposition says the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), "pursuant to MTS Board Resolution No. 26-01, raised three concerns": that Waymo cars could block streets or trolley tracks, "pointing to the December 2025 San Francisco power outage as an example"; harm to the taxi industry; and local control. The MTS Taxicab Advisory Committee also protested. CPUC staff found the submissions "do not state proper grounds for protest" and noted that "AV policy matters are currently addressed in Rulemaking 25-08-013."

The City of San Diego's staff report of September 14, 2026 recommends that the City Council adopt resolution R-2027-49. It would urge the Legislature and Governor to restore local control over driverless passenger service, ask operators to cooperate on Vehicle Code compliance under AB 1777, and have city staff "explore the development of a city process for tracking and monitoring AV violations." The report says "Local governments currently have little authority to respond or hold operators accountable." A resolution of this kind does not change the state permits.

Local incidents so far

As of October 5, 2026, we found no San Diego crash involving a driverless car with a local agency record or a federal investigation. NHTSA's most recent crash report release, dated September 15, 2026, covers reports "received through August 17, 2026," according to its data dictionary, which is before public rides began here. Our crash lookup searches NHTSA's California reports by month, city and company, and our Waymo accidents page tracks the company's federal record.

Police reports in San Diego

1. 1
   Get the agency and report number

   Ask the officer whether the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) or the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is writing the report, and write down the report number. The CHP usually handles freeway crashes.

2. 2
   SDPD reports

   SDPD takes collision report requests online through LexisNexis eCrash, by phone, by mail, or in person at 1401 Broadway. All reports except arrest reports cost $12, and SDPD asks requesters to allow three to 10 business days for the report to be submitted.

3. 3
   Freeway reports

   The CHP releases its reports to a proper party of interest, such as a driver, passenger or vehicle owner, through form CHP 190, submitted in person or by mail to the CHP Area office.

4. 4
   Who may get the report

   Vehicle Code 20012 requires the agency to disclose the report to any person with a proper interest, including the drivers involved. We request it for our clients.

5. 5
   A notice to the company

   Since July 1, 2026, an officer who sees a driverless car break a traffic law may issue a notice of autonomous vehicle noncompliance to the manufacturer, which must send it to the DMV within 72 hours (DMV AVIM 2026-002). Under Vehicle Code 38752, the notice "shall not create a presumption that the autonomous vehicle is unsafe."

Our self-driving car crash checklist lists what to photograph and write down at the scene, including the plate and the company markings.

San Diego courthouses

San Diego Superior Court's Where to File page quotes Local Rule 1.2.2(E): for civil limited and unlimited cases, "East and South are included in the Central Division, at the 330 West Broadway location, Room 225." The North County Division is at 325 S. Melrose Drive, Vista. The court's Zip Code List gives the filing location for an address. The statute of limitations, the deadline to file a lawsuit for an injury or death, is two years (Code Civ. Proc. 335.1).

A rider's claim may go to arbitration instead. Waymo's rider terms, last updated September 29, 2026, call for "binding, individual arbitration" and let a rider opt out "within thirty (30) days of the date you first accepted a version of these Terms." For a rider who first accepted the terms when San Diego service opened, that window may be closing or closed. People who were walking, cycling or driving another car never accepted those terms. Our robotaxi passenger injuries page explains the opt-out.

Claims against a public agency

A claim against Waymo is not a government claim. A public agency enters the case only when a city vehicle, a transit vehicle, a dangerous road condition or a broken signal played a part. Then Government Code 911.2 requires a written claim for injury or death "not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action." The City of San Diego's Risk Management Department says "Most claims must be presented to the Risk Management Department no later than six months after the date of the incident or event." It takes claims through its Public Liability Claims Portal or in writing on form RM-9 at 1200 Third Ave., Suite 1000, and no longer accepts first-notice claims by email. Other public agencies, such as MTS or the county, have their own claim offices, so confirm the right one before filing.

Related pages

• The car drove away, or you hit a Waymo. See our Waymo insurance and claims page.
• You were walking, cycling or on a motorcycle. See our pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists page.
• You want to know who pays. See our page on who is liable.
• The crash was elsewhere. See our Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area pages, or our San Diego personal injury lawyer page for other crashes here.

After you call

A San Diego robotaxi case starts with the same steps as anywhere else: identify the company and its permits, get the police report, ask the company to preserve its data, and track the six-month and two-year deadlines. Josh Kohanim, Esq. is the firm's founder and trial attorney. Call (424) 235-7879, where Spanish-speaking staff answer the phone, or use the form. No fee unless we recover.