Submission + - Was Waymo Robotaxi Speeding Before It 'Made Contact with a Young Pedestrian'? 2
theodp writes: The self-congratulatory, yea-we-hit-the-kid-but-you-would-have-done-lots-worse tone of Waymo's blog post response to its Waymo robotaxi hitting a child near an elementary School in Santa Monica seemed a bit tone deaf, even more so as commenters pointed out and Google Maps images appeared to confirm that the posted speed limit around Grant Elementary School in Santa Monica is 15 mph (Google Maps link, screenshot) when children are present and Waymo self-reported that the robotaxi's speed was "approximately 17 mph" when it spotted the "young pedestrian" and "braked hard" to reduce the car's speed "to under 6 mph before contact was made." Waymo did not mention what the speed limit was in its self-described ‘transparent’ blog disclosure.
Not that going 17 mph in a 15 mph zone is the stuff of street drag racing, but it's at odds with the attaboy Waymo gave itself for softening the blow to the child as well as an earlier Waymo blog post that boasted "the Waymo Driver is always alert, respects speed limits."
From a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report on the incident: "NHTSA is aware that the incident occurred within two blocks of a Santa Monica, CA elementary school [a Jan. 23rd police call report puts the location as the 2400 block of Pearl St.] during normal school drop off hours; that there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity; and that the child ran across the street from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV. Waymo reported that the child sustained minor injuries. [...] ODI [Office of Defect Investigation] has opened this Preliminary Evaluation to investigate whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users. ODI expects that its investigation will examine the ADS’s intended behavior in school zones and neighboring areas, especially during normal school pick up/drop off times, including but not limited to its adherence to posted speed limits. ODI will also investigate Waymo's post-impact response."
Not that going 17 mph in a 15 mph zone is the stuff of street drag racing, but it's at odds with the attaboy Waymo gave itself for softening the blow to the child as well as an earlier Waymo blog post that boasted "the Waymo Driver is always alert, respects speed limits."
From a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report on the incident: "NHTSA is aware that the incident occurred within two blocks of a Santa Monica, CA elementary school [a Jan. 23rd police call report puts the location as the 2400 block of Pearl St.] during normal school drop off hours; that there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity; and that the child ran across the street from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV. Waymo reported that the child sustained minor injuries. [...] ODI [Office of Defect Investigation] has opened this Preliminary Evaluation to investigate whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users. ODI expects that its investigation will examine the ADS’s intended behavior in school zones and neighboring areas, especially during normal school pick up/drop off times, including but not limited to its adherence to posted speed limits. ODI will also investigate Waymo's post-impact response."
