Waymo under scrutiny after hitting child near Santa Monica elementary school
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A Waymo self-driving taxi recently struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during drop-off hours, triggering an investigation into the incident by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.The child sustained minor injuries, Waymo said.After being struck, the child stood up and walked to the sidewalk, where witnesses called 911.
Santa Monica Police said officers responded to the Jan.23 incident near 24th and Pearl streets, close to Grant Elementary School.
After being evaluated by responders from the fire department, the child was released.The investigation said the child was running across the street toward the school when they were hit.Waymo said the child appeared from behind a large SUV.
California Waymo charging stations have caused turmoil in a Santa Monica neighborhood, with some residents calling the round-the-clock beeping and humming of autonomous vehicles a nuisance.“The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path,” Waymo said in a statement.“The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.”There were other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity when the accident occurred, according to NHTSA.
Waymo reported the incident to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and said it would fully cooperate.The Waymo involved was operating on the company’s fifth-generation automated driving system without a safety driver.
The company said the incident demonstrated the safety benefits of Waymo.“Our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph,” the statement said.“This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the ...