Waymo robotaxi hits a child near a school, causing minor injuries

"A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, on January 23rd, causing minor injuries and prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety administration to open an investigation. The incident occurred during normal school drop off hours, with other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity, NHTSA said. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV toward the school and was struck by the Waymo vehicle."

"In a blog post, Waymo said its vehicle was traveling at 17mph when its autonomous system detected the child and then "braked hard," reducing its speed to 6mph before "contact was made." The child "stood up immediately, walked to the sidewalk," and Waymo said it called 911. "The vehicle moved to the side of the road, and stayed there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle to leave the scene," it said."

"NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation said it would examine whether "exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users." The office also will look into Waymo's "intended behavior in school zones and neighboring areas, especially during normal school pick up/drop off times, including but not limited to its adherence to posted speed limits.""

A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, resulting in minor injuries and a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation. The collision occurred during school drop-off hours amid other children, a crossing guard, and double-parked vehicles. The child ran from behind a double-parked SUV and was struck. The vehicle was traveling at 17 mph when its autonomous system detected the child and braked to 6 mph before contact. The child stood and walked to the sidewalk; 911 was called and the vehicle remained until law enforcement cleared the scene. NHTSA will examine caution, school-zone behavior, and speed adherence; a cited model compares impact speeds to a fully attentive human driver.

Read at The Verge