A Waymo robotaxi hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on Jan. 23, according to the company. Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the child — whose age and identity are not currently public — suffered minor injuries.
NHTSA opened one research in the accident, and Waymo said in one blog post that he will “cooperate fully with them throughout the process.” The National Transportation Safety Board he said Thursday afternoon that it also opened an investigation in coordination with the Santa Monica Police Department.
Waymo said its robotaxi hit the child at six miles per hour after braking “hard” from about 17 miles per hour. The young pedestrian “suddenly entered the roadway behind a tall SUV, proceeding directly into the path of our vehicle,” the company said in its blog post. Waymo said its vehicle “immediately located the subject as they began to back out from behind the stopped vehicle.”
“Upon contact, the pedestrian immediately got up, walked to the sidewalk and we called 911. The vehicle remained stationary, moved to the side of the road and remained there until law enforcement extricated the vehicle from the scene,” Waymo wrote in the post.
News of the crash comes as Waymo faces dual investigations into its robot illegally passing school buses. NHTSA opened an investigation into the problem in October shortly after the incident was first reported in Atlanta, Georgia, and the NTSB opened its own investigation last week after about 20 incidents were reported in Austin, Texas.
According to NHTSA, the accident occurred “within two blocks” of the elementary school “during normal school recess hours.” The safety regulator said “there were other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles in the area”.
NHTSA’s Office of Failure Investigation is investigating “whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate care given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during rush hours and the presence of young pedestrians and other potentially vulnerable road users.”
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Waymo said in its blog post that its “peer-reviewed model” shows that a “very careful driver in the same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at about 14 mph.” The company did not release a specific analysis of this crash.
This story has been updated to include information about the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation.
