Waymo Robotaxi Strikes Child Near California School
A Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in California, causing minor injuries. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation to assess whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution near the school.
What happened
A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in California, causing minor injuries. According to Waymo, the child was hidden behind a large SUV before running onto the street in front of the autonomous vehicle.
The vehicle performed emergency braking, decelerating from approximately 27 km/h to under 10 km/h. Waymo stated that according to its computational model, an attentive human driver would have struck the child at approximately 22.5 km/h.
Reported impact
The child sustained minor injuries from the collision.
Index analysis
Waymo pointed to the vehicle's faster braking response as evidence of the system's safety advantage over human drivers. The company has approximately 3,000 vehicles that have driven millions of kilometers on public roads.
Governance controls
Waymo previously modified its software after a vehicle was recorded illegally passing a parked school bus. The NHTSA investigation will examine whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution in proximity to a school and children.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.