Waymo’s sensor stack on high of a Waymo autonomous automobile. | Supply: Waymo
The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, or NHTSA, at the moment stated it’s opening an investigation into Waymo LLC, a self-driving automobile developer and subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. The company is investigating an incident during which a Waymo automobile struck a toddler close to an elementary college in Santa Monica, Calif., final week.
According to the NHTSA, on Jan. 23, a toddler ran throughout the road from behind a double-parked SUV towards an elementary college. When the kid emerged from behind the SUV, a Waymo autonomous automobile (AV) struck the kid.
The accident occurred throughout regular college drop-off hours, stated the NHTSA. It added that different kids, a crossing guard, and several other double-parked autos have been within the neighborhood.
Waymo claimed that its know-how detected the kid as quickly as she emerged from behind the parked autos. The corporate stated its automobile braked exhausting, decreasing velocity from roughly 17 mph to underneath 6 mph (27.3 to 9.6 kph) earlier than contact was made.
After the AV struck the kid, Waymo stated the kid stood up instantly and walked to the sidewalk. The corporate known as 911, and the automobile moved to the aspect of the street to attend for legislation enforcement to reach. Waymo additionally famous that it voluntarily contacted the NHTSA on the identical day and that it plans to completely cooperate with the investigation. It stated the kid sustained minor accidents.
As well as, Waymo asserted that its peer-reviewed research confirmed {that a} absolutely attentive human driver would have made contact with the pedestrian at roughly 14 mph (22.5 kph). That is tough to confirm, as the corporate has not launched a video of the incident.
Contained in the NHTSA investigation, Waymo’s college bus troubles
Screenshot from a video capturing one of many incidents of a Waymo robotaxi illegally passing a stopped college bus. | Credit score: Austin ISD
The NHTSA’s Workplace of Defects Investigation (ODI) has opened a preliminary analysis into whether or not the automated driving system (ADS) exercised applicable warning given its proximity to the elementary college throughout drop-off hours.
ODI stated it is going to doubtless look at the ADS’s meant conduct at school zones and neighboring areas, particularly throughout regular college choose up/drop off instances, together with however not restricted to its adherence to posted velocity limits. The workplace may also examine Waymo’s post-impact response.
However this isn’t the primary downside Waymo has had when attempting to navigate college drop-offs. In December, Waymo introduced that it could file a voluntary software program recall in response to its robotaxis illegally passing stopped college buses in numerous incidents throughout totally different states.
In September, WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired a video displaying a Waymo illegally passing a stopped college bus. A month later, the NHTSA opened an investigation into Waymo round “visitors security violations referring to stopping when encountering a faculty bus, significantly when the bus is boarding or offboarding college students.”
Residents and college officers noticed comparable issues in Austin, Texas. The Austin Impartial College District detailed 19 totally different cases of a Waymo robotaxi “illegally and dangerously” passing Austin college buses because the 2025-2026 college 12 months in a letter it despatched to the NHTSA.
The college district requested that Waymo stop operations in the course of the instances college buses can be loading and unloading.
Wanting again at Waymo’s security document
This additionally isn’t the primary time a Waymo automobile has struck an individual. In February 2024, a Waymo automobile ran right into a bicyclist in Potrero Hill in San Francisco. The bicycle owner turned left in entrance of the automobile because it entered the intersection.
The Waymo automobile was unable to detect the bicyclist earlier as a result of it was following carefully behind a big truck that handed by means of the intersection instantly earlier than the automobile began to undergo.
In keeping with NHTSA, Waymo’s robotaxis surpassed 100 million miles of driving in July 2025, and the corporate continues to build up 2 million miles per week. The corporate at present operates autonomous ride-hailing companies in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Within the U.S., Waymo stated its robotaxis have already pushed greater than 10 million paid rides.
Waymo final issued a voluntary recall in Could 2025, when it recalled 1,212 robotaxis to handle dangers of collisions with chains, gates, and different roadway limitations. The corporate stated it resolved the underlying software program challenge by means of a November 2024 replace that decreased the probability of all these occasions.
Waymo might be underneath rising security scrutiny because it continues to increase its AV service. It intends to increase or launch companies in Nashville, Las Vegas, San Diego, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Orlando, San Antonio, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Denver within the coming years.
As well as, the corporate is planning to deliver its know-how abroad. Waymo stated it needs to deploy in London in 2026, and it has already deployed check autos in Tokyo to be taught native visitors patterns.
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