- The NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation after a Waymo self-driving vehicle made contact with a child near a school last week.
- Waymo states its vehicle braked hard, slowing from 17 mph to 6 mph, and that simulations show a human driver would have hit the pedestrian at twice that speed.
- This probe adds to mounting scrutiny following other incidents, including a recent crash in LA and an NTSB investigation into vehicles passing school buses.
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) shares were up 2% pre-market despite these safety concerns.
Last week, a Waymo robotaxi made contact with a young pedestrian near a school, prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to open a fresh probe into the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary on Thursday. This incident intensifies the national scrutiny surrounding autonomous vehicle safety and operational protocols.
Waymo stated it voluntarily reported the event, which occurred when the pedestrian “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path.” Consequently, the company’s automated system applied hard brakes, reducing impact speed from 17 mph to 6 mph before contact.
The pedestrian later stood up and walked to the sidewalk, after which Waymo contacted 911. Meanwhile, the company argues its peer-reviewed model shows a hypothetical human driver would have struck the individual at nearly 14 mph, potentially causing worse injuries.
However, this is not an isolated event for the Tesla Inc. rival. According to an NBC Los Angeles report, a Waymo vehicle recently crashed into parked cars in Echo Park, LA. Furthermore, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is separately probing the company for vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses.
Despite this mounting regulatory pressure, Alphabet’s Class A shares traded 2% higher in Thursday’s pre-market session. The robotaxi sector faces a critical test as investigators dissect the performance of automated safety systems versus human reactions.
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