ByJohn Koetsier,
Senior Contributor.
Well, it’s happened. A robotaxi hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California. It’s not the first case of an autonomous vehicle striking a pedestrian, and it won’t be the last. In this case, a car from Google’s sibling company Waymo was involved in the accident.
Waymo is being transparent about the issue, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating.
At first glance, these seems like an oh-too-typical case of a car hitting a child. From Waymo’s blog post about the incident, which happened on Friday, Jan. 23: “The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path.”
