Alphabet's Waymo self-driving vehicle had another safety incident, hitting and injuring a child in the area around a primary school.Recently, a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, causing minor injuries.
At the time of the incident, the child suddenly ran across the road from behind a double-parked SUV. There were other children, traffic wardens, and multiple parked vehicles at the scene.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into this matter and will verify whether the vehicle was in a school zone and take protective measures for vulnerable road users such as minor pedestrians.
At the same time, the vehicle's compliance with speed limit regulations and Waymo's follow-up response to the accident will be reviewed.
Previously, the company's self-driving vehicles were investigated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for more than 20 illegal incidents of overtaking school buses in Austin, Texas.
According to U.S. traffic regulations, when a school bus lights up its red warning lights and extends its parking arm, all passing vehicles must stop and overtaking is strictly prohibited. Although Waymo has recalled and rectified the problem, the problem has not been completely eliminated.
While safety issues occur frequently, Waymo is still accelerating business expansion.
In 2025, Waymo will not only officially operate self-driving services in Atlanta and Austin, expand its operations in Silicon Valley, but also conduct tests in New York and other cities, and promote trial operations at San Jose and San Francisco airports.It plans to further expand its service to cities in 2026.