US opens probe after a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near a school

"The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is opening an investigation after a Waymo self-driving vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, last week, causing minor injuries and renewing concerns about the safety of robotaxis. The car safety agency said on Thursday that the child ran across the street on January 23 from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Alphabet-unit Waymo autonomous vehicle during normal school drop-off hours."

"Waymo said in a blog post on Thursday that it will cooperate in the investigation and said the child suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle's path. It added that the self-driving vehicle immediately detected the individual as soon as the child emerged from behind the stopped vehicle, braking hard and reducing speed from approximately 17 miles per hour (27 kilometres per hour) to under 6mph (10km/h) before contact was made."

NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation after a Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, causing minor injuries. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV during normal school drop-off hours, in an area with other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles. Waymo stated the child emerged suddenly into the vehicle's path, and the vehicle detected the child, braked hard and reduced speed from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact. NTSB also launched an investigation. The incident occurs amid expanding robotaxi deployments and pending congressional scrutiny.

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