NHTSA opens investigation into Waymo after robotaxi hits child near school

[midian182]

What just happened? The NHTSA is investigating an incident in which a Waymo self-driving robotaxi hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, last week. The agency confirmed that they sustained only minor injuries, while Waymo said it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation.

Waymo writes that the accident happened on January 23, during normal school drop-off hours. The child, whose details have not been revealed, suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into the robotaxi's path.

The company added its vehicle braked hard, reducing its speed from 17 mph to 6 mph before contact was made.

In an effort to emphasize its technology's safety, Waymo added that a peer-reviewed model shows a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph.

The child stood up immediately following contact and walked to the sidewalk. Waymo called 911 and the vehicle moved to the side of the road, where it stayed until law enforcement cleared it to leave.

The vehicle in question did not have a safety driver on board. Waymo said it was using a fifth-generation automated driving system, which was introduced in 2020.

The NHTSA is conducting its investigation into the incident in coordination with the Santa Monica Police Department. The probe will likely examine whether the vehicle operated normally in a school zone.

Waymo is no stranger to NHTSA probes. The agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation in October after footage showed a Waymo robotaxi maneuvering around a stopped school bus that was unloading children in Atlanta, Georgia.

The vehicle crossed perpendicularly in front of the bus from its right side, before turning left around the front of the bus. The NHTSA said there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity at the time.

The ODI also opened an investigation in May 2024 following reports of 17 crashes and five possible traffic violations involving Waymo vehicles.

In December, a massive power outage in San Francisco resulted in clusters of Waymo's white Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis idling motionless at intersections. When traffic lights went dark citywide, the vehicles' autonomous logic defaulted to a four-way stop protocol, the standard procedure when signals fail.

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NHTSA opens investigation into Waymo after robotaxi hits child near school

 

[kira setsu]

Kids in the US have it rough, if they're not getting shot at or abused the cars are now out to get em.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

It sounds like the Waymo acted flawlessly. Driving at 17mph where children are present is more than reasonable. The kid was even able to walk away after.

 

[Squid Surprise]

People just fear “AI” because they watch/read science fiction and fear Skynet…

The car hit the child - who was crossing illegally - at 6mph… had it been a human driver, it wouldn’t have made the news… probably wouldn’t have even involved any police. Would have been an “are you ok? Next time look both ways before you cross the street!” And done..

We have plenty of motorists hitting children cause they are bad drivers… let’s get self-driving tech perfected ASAP and we can save thousands of lives.

 

[BbN48]

What people should care about is whether the robotaxis etc are safer than human drivers.

 

[letsgoiowa]

What people should care about is whether the robotaxis etc are safer than human drivers.

I agree and I also am adopting the idea that we need to figure out the responsibility situation. The most logical conclusion to me is that if it makes a mistake that causes harm, the "driver" (the company providing the software) is to blame but that's not legally set in stone quite yet apparently

 

[pnntmp]

An obviously unavoidable incident that would have been a lot worse with a human driver.
Waymo should be praised.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I'm legit impressed by all the reasonable comments. I was expecting a fight between "EV bad" and "Parents should" commentors.

 

[daffy duck]

Kids running out in front of cars is an age old problem. I was on a school bus that killed a student that ran straight out in front of the bus. The driver could not do anything. I not even sure why the NHSTA is involved. This is not like Musk's criminal attempts to cover up FSD fatalities.

 

[p51d007]

Unless you read the DETAILS in most news reports of this, you'd think this child was just standing there and the waymo just went out of its way to hit the child, instead of the child apparently ran out from between a parked or stopped vehicle, into the path of the waymo. And considering how distracted humans are when driving these days (phones, touch screens etc), sounds like the waymo slowed down more than had a human been driving.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Kids running out in front of cars is an age old problem. I was on a school bus that killed a student that ran straight out in front of the bus. The driver could not do anything. I not even sure why the NHSTA is involved. This is not like Musk's criminal attempts to cover up FSD fatalities.

If you can get Big Daddy off your mind for a minute, you'll be able to research what the NHTSA is and what it does. Here, I googled it for you:

Yes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can get involved with traffic accidents, but not every crash triggers an investigation.

Special Crash Investigations (SCI)
The NHTSA conducts in-depth investigations into specific accidents through its Special Crash Investigations (SCI) Program, which has been active since 1972. These investigations are not routine and are typically initiated when:

The crash involves emerging technologies (e.g., automated driving systems).
There are concerns about safety defects, restraint systems, or vehicle-pedestrian crashes.
The accident includes school bus involvement or unusual injury patterns.

I agree and I also am adopting the idea that we need to figure out the responsibility situation. The most logical conclusion to me is that if it makes a mistake that causes harm, the "driver" (the company providing the software) is to blame but that's not legally set in stone quite yet apparently

This situation is a great example of the exact opposite. Not all crashes and accidents are unavoidable. In this case, if a kid darts in front of a moving car, even with instantiations reaction time, a car cannot stop. Why is the car driver responsible in this situation? Especially if the pedestrian in question is not in a crosswalk? Making the driver responsible for all crashes will create a cottage industry of insurance scammers that do this exact same thing to mine companies for cash, since now they know they can get up and walk away from a low speed collision and get $$$ because "the manufacturer is responsible for accidents".

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I'm legit impressed by all the reasonable comments. I was expecting a fight between "EV bad" and "Parents should" commentors.

That’s because Tesla is not an involved party. If it was, some people would be losing their minds demanding that Musk be sent to prison lol. Oh wait, someone already did that here as you can see below

This is not like Musk's criminal attempts to cover up FSD fatalities.