Waymo’s sensor stack on prime of a Waymo autonomous automobile. | Supply: Waymo
The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, or NHTSA, as we speak mentioned 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 baby close to an elementary faculty in Santa Monica, Calif., final week.
In response to the NHTSA, on Jan. 23, a baby ran throughout the road from behind a double-parked SUV towards an elementary faculty. When the kid emerged from behind the SUV, a Waymo autonomous automobile (AV) struck the kid.
The accident occurred throughout regular faculty drop-off hours, mentioned the NHTSA. It added that different youngsters, a crossing guard, and several other double-parked automobiles have been within the neighborhood.
Waymo claimed that its expertise detected the kid as quickly as she emerged from behind the parked automobiles. The firm mentioned its automobile braked laborious, decreasing velocity from roughly 17 mph to below 6 mph (27.3 to 9.6 kph) earlier than contact was made.
After the AV struck the kid, Waymo mentioned the kid stood up instantly and walked to the sidewalk. The corporate referred to as 911, and the automobile moved to the aspect of the street to attend for regulation enforcement to reach. Waymo additionally famous that it voluntarily contacted the NHTSA on the identical day and that it plans to totally cooperate with the investigation. It mentioned the kid sustained minor accidents.
As well as, Waymo asserted that its peer-reviewed research confirmed {that a} totally attentive human driver would have made contact with the pedestrian at roughly 14 mph (22.5 kph). That is troublesome to confirm, as the corporate has not launched a video of the incident.
Contained in the NHTSA investigation, Waymo’s faculty bus troubles
Screenshot from a video capturing one of many incidents of a Waymo robotaxi illegally passing a stopped faculty 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 acceptable warning given its proximity to the elementary faculty throughout drop-off hours.
ODI mentioned it’ll doubtless study the ADS’s supposed habits in class zones and neighboring areas, particularly throughout regular faculty choose up/drop off instances, together with however not restricted to its adherence to posted velocity limits. The workplace may even examine Waymo’s post-impact response.
However this isn’t the primary downside Waymo has had when attempting to navigate faculty drop-offs. In December, Waymo introduced that it could file a voluntary software program recall in response to its robotaxis illegally passing stopped faculty buses in plenty of incidents throughout completely different states.
In September, WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired a video exhibiting a Waymo illegally passing a stopped faculty bus. A month later, the NHTSA opened an investigation into Waymo round “visitors security violations regarding stopping when encountering a college bus, notably when the bus is boarding or offboarding college students.”
Residents and college officers noticed related issues in Austin, Texas. The Austin Unbiased Faculty District detailed 19 completely different situations of a Waymo robotaxi “illegally and dangerously” passing Austin faculty buses because the 2025-2026 faculty 12 months in a letter it despatched to the NHTSA.
The varsity district requested that Waymo stop operations throughout the instances faculty 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 way of the intersection instantly earlier than the automobile began to undergo.
In response to 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 presently operates autonomous ride-hailing companies in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Within the U.S., Waymo mentioned 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 boundaries. The corporate mentioned it resolved the underlying software program subject by way of a November 2024 replace that diminished the chance of these kind of occasions.
Waymo will likely be below growing security scrutiny because it continues to develop its AV service. It intends to develop 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 convey its expertise abroad. Waymo mentioned it needs to deploy in London in 2026, and it has already deployed check automobiles in Tokyo to be taught native visitors patterns.
