A self-driving Waymo taxi hit a child near a southern California elementary school last week, prompting a fresh federal review of the company's technology and safety practices, KTLA reports. Waymo said in a blog post that the child suffered minor injuries when they ran into the street from behind a double-parked SUV during morning drop-off hours near the Santa Monica school. The robotaxi, operating autonomously, was traveling about 17mph and braked sharply, slowing to under 6mph before impact, the company said in its post. The child reportedly entered the roadway "suddenly," and directly in the autonomous vehicle's path, ABC 7 reports.
Waymo added that the child immediately stood up and walked to the sidewalk. The company said it called 911, and the vehicle pulled over and remained at the scene until police allowed it to leave. No safety operator was present in the car at the time, USA Today reports. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation, focusing on whether the autonomous system used appropriate caution near a school at a busy time with children, a crossing guard, and multiple vehicles in the area. Regulators also plan to examine the car's actions after the collision. Waymo told NHTSA it will fully cooperate and has formally reported the incident.
In defending its system, Waymo pointed to a peer-reviewed model it says shows a fully attentive human driver in the same scenario likely would have struck the child at about 14mph. The crash adds to Waymo's regulatory scrutiny: NHTSA is already probing reports that its robotaxis failed to properly stop for school buses, while the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a separate inquiry after roughly 20 such incidents in Austin, Texas.
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