US safety agency probes Waymo after child struck near California school

US regulators have opened a new investigation into Waymo after one of the company’s self-driving vehicles struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, renewing scrutiny of robotaxi safety as autonomous cars spread across American cities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday it had launched a probe into the January 23 incident, which took place during normal school drop-off hours. According to the agency, the child ran into the street from behind a double-parked SUV and was hit by the Alphabet-owned Waymo vehicle. The child suffered minor injuries.

The agency said the area was crowded at the time, with other children present, a crossing guard on duty and multiple vehicles double-parked near the school — conditions that place heightened demands on any driver, human or automated.

The case comes as self-driving taxis are being rolled out in greater numbers nationwide. It also lands just days before a previously scheduled US Senate Commerce Committee hearing on autonomous vehicles on February 4, where Waymo’s chief safety officer, Mauricio Pena, is due to testify.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it will also investigate the Santa Monica collision.

Waymo said it would cooperate fully with regulators. In a blog post on Thursday, the company said the child “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path”.

It said the vehicle detected the child immediately after they emerged from behind the parked SUV and braked hard, slowing from about 17 miles per hour (27km/h) to under 6mph (10km/h) before making contact.

NHTSA said it has opened a preliminary evaluation to determine whether the Waymo autonomous vehicle exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to an elementary school during drop-off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

The agency said it would examine the vehicle’s “intended behaviour in school zones and neighbouring areas, especially during normal school pick-up and drop-off times, including but not limited to its adherence to posted speed limits”, and would “also investigate Waymo’s post-impact response”.

Waymo said its internal modelling suggested that “a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14mph (23km/h)”. After the collision, the child stood up, walked to the pavement and the company said it called emergency services.

“The vehicle remained stopped, moved to the side of the road, and stayed there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle to leave the scene,” Waymo said.

The Santa Monica incident is the latest in a series of cases involving Waymo and school zones. On the same day, the NTSB opened a separate investigation into the company after its robotaxis were found to have illegally passed stopped school buses in Austin, Texas, at least 19 times since the start of the school year.

Waymo recalled more than 3,000 vehicles in December to update software linked to those violations. NHTSA had already opened an earlier probe in October into Waymo vehicles passing school buses.

Waymo said no collisions occurred in the Austin incidents. However, the Austin Independent School District said five violations took place in November even after software updates were installed, and asked the company to pause operations around schools during pick-up and drop-off times. In December, the district told Reuters that Waymo had refused to suspend those operations.