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Posted on 01/29/2026 12:53:57 PM PST by DFG
Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles “struck a child near an elementary school” in Santa Monica, California
The Jan. 23 incident is now being investigated by the U.S. vehicle safety authority.
According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries.
The Waymo collision occurred within two blocks of an elementary school during normal school drop-off hours, while other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles were nearby.
“The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV,” NHTSA said in a document describing the incident that necessitated their “preliminary evaluation.”
The vehicle was running on Waymo’s 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor in the vehicle.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations plans to assess “whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users.”
The agency’s investigation will include analysis of the “intended behavior” of Waymo’s driverless vehicles in school zones and neighboring areas, especially during normal school pick-up and drop-off times, as well as the company’s post-impact response.
“Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle. The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made,” Waymo said in a statement on their blog.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
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Punishment on Google will depend entirely on the race of the kid.
This won't happen in the next release.
Yup—the Waymo probably has white genocide in the programming—gotta get whitey off Turtle Island.
From the description it sounds like the car still acted quicker than a person would
It’s California. What’s the big deal? Little chump shouldn’t have been in Alphabet Tech’s way. Just think of it as a very late term abortion attempt.
Now if it had been a *dog* that got hit — by gum, THAT would have been a travesty of epic proportions!!!
We were taught not to run between parked cars
Sue them for millions and drag them into court. Make them explain how a driverless vehicle should be allowed anywhere near a school zone.
BTW, they are also in hot water for not stopping for school buses.
and sexual preferance..
its california right?
and not to double park
We have Waymo all over the place here in Mesa. I also see them dropping kids off at Dobson High. They are not for me, but I know they get non-drivers of all types to work and school for a reasonsable price.
They are also the only ones to buy Jaguars!
Unlike 99% of the vehicles out there, this Waymo probably has full video along with the speed and braking data. Now if the Waymo had accelerated from 17 to 60 to make sure the kid didn’t escape...
I honestly wonder how the wYmo would handle this: I’m 16, driving along a solid row of parked cars on my right. A paper Burger King crown pushed by high wind rolls out from between 2 parked cars. As soon as I see it I lock them up and swerve away. Yep a tiny little kid came running out after it he had t been visible at all when on the car side of the cars. Wasn’t t tall enough.
In before the Johnny Cab meme...,
[A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school.]
Next thing you know, Driver Johnny will show up in a Star Trek show
He should go Back to School
Once again one of my predictions from a decade ago has proven out.
“This won’t happen in the next release.”
First they will have to try it again a few more times to see if they can reproduce the issue. And then again to make sure it was fixed.
“”Alphabet-owned Waymo””
Pretty strange and maddening when you’re scratching your head at the very first three words of a sentence - no clue what the object is!
...
“Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle. The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made,” Waymo said in a statement on their blog.
If both of these statements are true, Waymo should be in the clear. Children who dart out onto the street are a known issue. If the computer driver reacted at computer speed, but within the boundaries of physics, the company should not be in legal jeopardy.
Again - IF both statements are true.
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