tech
January 29, 2026
A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school. The NHTSA is investigating
U.S. regulators are investigating the behavior of Waymo driverless vehicles around schools and school buses
TL;DR
- A Waymo driverless vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California on January 23.
- The child sustained minor injuries, and the NHTSA has launched an investigation into the incident.
- Waymo stated its vehicle braked from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before impact, claiming this significantly reduced the severity compared to a human driver.
- The investigation will assess Waymo's caution near schools during drop-off hours and its response after the collision.
- This incident follows a separate investigation by the NTSB into Waymo vehicles allegedly passing stopped school buses in Austin, Texas.
- Waymo was also involved in a separate incident in Los Angeles where a vehicle operated in manual mode by a human specialist struck parked cars.
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