Alphabet-backed Waymo self-driving car kills dog in ‘unavoidable’ accident

A tragic incident occurred last month in San Francisco involving a Waymo robotaxi operating in autonomous mode. According to an incident report filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Waymo vehicle struck and killed a small dog. Based on the information provided in the report, it appears that the collision was unavoidable.

Any collision involving an autonomous vehicle can lead to a public backlash, especially in a city like San Francisco, where there is already tension between city officials, autonomous vehicle (AV) tech companies, and the public. Public perception plays a crucial role in the commercialisation of AVs, alongside technological capability and a favourable regulatory environment. An unfortunate event like a self-driving car causing harm to a beloved pet has the potential to undermine public trust and confidence in the technology.

The incident comes at a critical time for both the AV industry and Waymo. Waymo is expanding its robotaxi network in Phoenix and preparing to offer fully autonomous rides without a human behind the wheel in San Francisco, charging fares for the service.

According to the incident report seen by TechCrunch, the collision occurred when one of Waymo's self-driving Jaguar I-Pace cars was travelling on Toland Street, a low-speed street near Waymo's depot. The dog ran into the street while the vehicle was operating in autonomous mode, with a human safety operator present in the driver's seat.

Although the human operator did not see the dog, the vehicle's autonomous system detected it. However, several factors, including the dog's speed and trajectory, made the collision unavoidable, as explained by Waymo to TechCrunch.

Waymo provided the following statement in response to inquiries about the incident:

"On May 21 in San Francisco, a small dog ran in front of one of our vehicles with an autonomous specialist present in the driver's seat, and, unfortunately, contact was made. 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. We send our sincere condolences to the dog's owner. The trust and safety of the communities we are in are the most important things to us, and we're continuing to look into this on our end."

According to Waymo, neither the safety operator nor the autonomous system braked to avoid the collision. This was due to the "unusual path" the dog took, moving at a high rate of speed directly towards the side of the vehicle, according to a Waymo spokesperson.

Waymo evaluates its autonomous driver's collision avoidance performance by comparing it to a model for a non-impaired human driver who is always attentive to potential conflicts (referred to as NIEON). In this case, Waymo reconstructed the event in simulation using the NIEON model and determined that a collision was unavoidable.

Despite Waymo's potential for plausible deniability, the incident poses a risk to the public perception of both the company and the AV industry as a whole, which could complicate plans for AV expansion.

Recent studies indicate that public perception of autonomous vehicles is gradually improving, particularly in relation to lower levels of automation such as advanced driver assistance systems. The AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a study from 2018 to 2020, which revealed that people trust advanced driver assistance systems in modern vehicles, where a human is ready to take control if necessary, more than fully autonomous vehicles when it comes to crash prevention.

Another study, conducted between February and June 2022 and collecting nearly 6,000 responses, found that trust in AVs decreases after a crash, while concerns increase. However, individuals with prior knowledge of AVs tend to maintain a more optimistic outlook on the technology, even after a crash, as they generally understand that AVs may not always make the correct decisions during the early stages of adoption.

Aside from public perception, Waymo may face investigations from regulatory bodies like the National Highway Traffic Association (NHTSA).

Back in 2018, when an autonomous vehicle from Uber's now-defunct AV unit caused the death of a pedestrian, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation. Typically, the NTSB initiates an investigation when a significant crash highlights potential national safety issues on the highways. However, a spokesperson from the NTSB informed TechCrunch that they are not currently conducting any investigations involving Waymo.

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