Waymo Strikes Small Dog In Western Addition, Dog's Condition Not Known

"The Waymo rider, redditor braveNewWorldView, who was apparently in the car with their kids at the time, initially just posted to the Waymo subreddit saying, "Our Waymo just ran over a dog," and "Trying to call customer support. Called the police. Crowd is gathering not sure what to do." The person later followed up to say that a representative from Waymo reached out to them the next morning to check on them, and said they had dispatched team members to look for the dog's owner and offer support for veterinary care."

"But the rider makes a good point about how Waymo could improve their service and how their vehicles operate in such a situation: Honestly I not sure a human driver would have avoided the dog either though I do know that [a] human would have responded differently to a "bump" followed by a car full of screaming people. I suggested a wellness check feature that would check on passengers should the car detect panic screaming."

A Waymo robotaxi struck an unleashed dog around 8 pm near Scott and Eddy streets in San Francisco’s Western Addition. No updates about the dog’s condition or owner have been reported. A passenger who rode with children said they called police and customer support while a crowd gathered; Waymo contacted them the next morning and dispatched teams to look for the dog’s owner and offer veterinary support. The passenger suggested a wellness-check feature to detect passenger panic, noting a human driver might have reacted differently to a bump and screaming. The passenger said their children will be hesitant to ride again.

Read at sfist.com