Overview
- The Office of Defects Investigations launched a preliminary evaluation on Jan. 29 to assess whether the vehicle used appropriate caution near a school during drop-off hours and to review its post-impact response.
- Waymo reported that on Jan. 23 a driverless vehicle operating on its 5th‑generation system struck a child who ran from behind a double‑parked SUV; the child sustained minor injuries.
- Waymo said its system immediately detected the pedestrian and braked hard, cutting speed from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact, and it cited a model estimating a human driver would have hit at roughly 14 mph.
- According to the company, the child stood up and walked to the sidewalk, 911 was called, and the vehicle remained at the scene until police cleared it to leave.
- A separate NTSB investigation is examining reports that Waymo vehicles passed stopped school buses in Austin and elsewhere, incidents that persisted after a December software recall of more than 3,000 vehicles and prompted school districts to seek limits during pickup and drop-off times.