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.