Ruff News for Waymo After Test Vehicle Runs Over Dog

A Waymo autonomous test vehicle struck and killed a small dog in San Francisco last month, with news emerging after an incident report filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles became public. While the accident is nothing in comparison to the fatal crash from 2018, where an Uber AV killed a cyclist, it still spells bad publicity for companies hoping to field self-driving vehicles with the public’s blessing.

Alphabet’s Waymo is calling the accident “unavoidable” and this may be the case. Most of us have been in a situation where an animal darts out into traffic and directly into the vehicle we’re driving. That could be what has taken place here and is supported by the report issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Local outlets, like The San Francisco Standard and KRON4 News, were the first to share the story — noting that documents allege that the dog was off its leash.

The accident took place on May 21st and is part of a sixfold increase in monthly incident reports issued by Waymo’s autonomous test vehicles. General Motors’ Cruise vehicles have also seen a dramatic uptick in negative encounters. Though it’s worth noting that both companies have been ramping up operations in 2023 in preparation for the California Public Utilities Commission allowing autonomous robotaxi to run services 24 hours a day.

From The San Francisco Standard:

The car was in "autonomous mode," but a Waymo test driver was in the driver's seat. The Waymo vehicle sustained minor damage, according to the California DMV report.

A Waymo spokesperson confirmed the incident details and said the company sends sincere condolences to the dog owner.

"The investigation is ongoing, however, the initial review confirmed that the system correctly identified the dog, which ran out from behind a parked vehicle, but was not able to avoid contact," a spokesperson said. "The trust and safety of the communities we are in is the most important thing to us, and we’re continuing to look into this on our end."

Meanwhile, San Francisco officials have been backing annoyed locals who are bemoaning AVs behaving erratically in traffic. Similar to what we’ve seen in Phoenix, Arizona, test vehicles sometimes make sudden stops when uncertain about how to navigate traffic. There have also been allegations made that the vehicles have interfered with public transit and emergency services.

Autonomous vehicles have not developed anywhere near the pace most companies had initially promised and typically require human safety drivers. But companies like Waymo and Cruise have still made headway — offering an impressive experience for riders that are only undermined when the system seems to be at a loss of what to do next.

Hitting a dog is probably not grounds to pull the plug. But it does offer those disinclined to want test-bed AVs operating near their homes more ammunition when criticizing the companies involved. Some believe that self-driving cars have not yet reached a point where they should be allowed to operate on public roads and others believe the entire premise of autonomous vehicles represents an existential threat to humans that drive for a living.

Regardless, it’s assumed that the California Public Utilities Commission will still back companies hoping to expand robotaxi operations in San Francisco, and a formal vote on the matter has been scheduled for June 29th.

[Image: Waymo]

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