News comes from California about a traffic incident involving Waymo’s autonomous vehicle, in which a child was injured. Everything took place last Friday, January 23, in the immediate vicinity of an elementary school in Santa Monica near Los Angeles. According to official data, the incident happened during the morning hours, at the time scheduled for the students’ arrival at school. There was no safety driver in the vehicle, which was operated by Waymo’s fifth-generation autonomous driving system, at the time of the crash.
Reacted better than a human
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the accident occurred in an environment with an increased number of pedestrians, the presence of a school bus and multiple illegally parked vehicles. According to preliminary information, the child ran onto the pavement behind the parked SUV, after which contact with the autonomous vehicle took place. Waymo confirmed that the child suffered minor physical injuries and that after the impact he got up on his own and headed towards the sidewalk.
The robot taxi operator Waymo states that their technology detected a pedestrian immediately after emerging from behind an obstacle, which resulted in sudden braking. The speed of the vehicle was reduced from approximately 27 km/h to less than 10 km/h prior to the moment of contact. The company points out that, according to their internally verified models, the average human driver in the same situation would have made contact at a speed of about 22.5 km/h – so the child should probably be happy to have been “picked up” by a robot taxi, not a human driver.
After the event, a preliminary investigation into the case was officially opened to determine whether the autonomous system showed an appropriate level of caution. The focus of the investigation will be on the behavior of Waymo’s system in school zones, compliance with speed limits and the presence of children and other vulnerable groups on the road. Investigators will also analyze the behavior of the company and the vehicle immediately after the incident.
Waymo has confirmed full cooperation with regulatory authorities. According to their statements, the vehicle remained at the scene until the police allowed it to leave. The company claims that this event, despite the unfortunate circumstances, confirms the effectiveness of their security mechanisms in critical situations.