Waymo vehicle hits child in Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – A Waymo driverless vehicle struck a student on his way to school in Santa Monica, police said. 

What we know:

The crash happened around 7:40 a.m. Friday near 24th and Pearl streets, near Grant Elementary School.

“Preliminary information indicates the student entered the roadway outside the available crosswalk and away from the on-duty crossing guard, and was involved in a low speed, non-injury collision with the vehicle,” said Santa Monica Police Department spokesman Lt. Lewis Gilmour.

The student, who was with his parents, was unharmed. Their exact age is unknown. 

What they’re saying:

According to Waymo, their vehicle detected the child as soon as he emerged from behind the stopped vehicle.

On their website, Waymo released a statement saying, “The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path. 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. 

“To put this in perspective, our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph. This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver.”

They say the student immediately stood up after the accident, walked to the sidewalk, and Waymo called 911. The vehicle remained on scene until law enforcement arrived and cleared the vehicle to leave. 

What’s next:

Waymo said they contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that same day, and they plan to open an investigation.

The backstory:

Santa Monica has an ordinance requiring drivers to travel no more than 15 mph in school zones when children are present, raising questions about why the Waymo vehicle was traveling at 17 mph at the time of the collision, said Jonah Bliss, co-founder of the Urban Autonomy Summit.

The investigation comes as Waymo continues expanding its self-driving vehicles onto freeways across Los Angeles, despite several recent high-profile incidents. In one case, a Waymo vehicle drove through an active police standoff while officers had their guns drawn. In another, a woman discovered a man hiding in the trunk of a Waymo vehicle when she opened the door for her ride.

“Every time something like this happens, it obviously shakes people a little bit,” Bliss said. “But if you think about how many millions of miles are driven every day, and how many thousands of accidents humans get into every hour, this is going to be a gradual process.”