Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe

Waymo has submitted documents to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of an ongoing investigation into a January collision involving one of its autonomous vehicles and a child. The incident took place in Santa Monica, California, when a 9-year-old girl entered the road near a school and was struck by a Waymo-operated Jaguar I-Pace robotaxi. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the vehicle was initially traveling at 17 miles per hour but slowed to six miles per hour before impact. The collision occurred near the front-right headlight assembly of the car. The girl suffered minor injuries and walked to the curb unaided, requiring no medical transport. The NTSB's investigation into the crash is distinct from the one conducted by NHTSA, which focuses on potential defects in the vehicle or its systems. NHTSA launched its inquiry shortly after the accident and sent 12 detailed questions to Waymo on March 23. These included inquiries about how the company determines speed limits in school zones, whether it had received complaints regarding its robotaxis' behavior near educational institutions, and documentation related to its software systems. Initially, Waymo had until May 8 to respond, but it requested an extension, arguing that extensive preparation and review could hinder the investigation rather than support it. A letter from Waymo’s senior director of safety, Matthew Schwall, outlined these concerns to NHTSA on May 1. In response to the request for clarification and an extension, Waymo submitted a second letter on July 8, addressing some of the questions posed by NHTSA. The agency granted the company additional time to answer 10 of the 12 queries. On Friday, a batch of documents from Waymo appeared on NHTSA’s public website following a query from TechCrunch. However, all the information within these documents was redacted, labeled as confidential business information. Despite this, the submission indicates that the investigation is moving forward, even though the specifics remain unclear due to the redactions. The initial documents submitted by Waymo cover a range of topics requested by NHTSA, including operational procedures in school zones, customer feedback concerning the performance of robotaxis in such areas, and technical details about the software used in their autonomous vehicles. The NTSB is expected to release a comprehensive report on the incident after a year, offering deeper insights into the causes and implications of the collision. Meanwhile, NHTSA continues to evaluate the data provided by Waymo, aiming to determine if there are systemic issues with the company’s autonomous driving technology that require regulatory action. Following the submission of the documents, NHTSA indicated it is still reviewing further responses and plans to make them publicly available once complete. The process highlights the complexity of investigating incidents involving autonomous vehicles, which involve both mechanical components and sophisticated software systems. As the investigation progresses, stakeholders are watching closely to see whether any deficiencies in Waymo’s operations emerge that might necessitate changes in policy or regulation. The outcome of the NHTSA probe could influence future standards for autonomous vehicle safety and the broader deployment of self-driving technologies across the United States.