Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA probe of robotaxi-child collision
Waymo has responded to NHTSA's investigation into a January crash in which a robotaxi struck a child in Santa Monica, with an initial batch of documents posted Friday.
The agency said it is reviewing other responses and will publish them in the investigation file upon completion. The responses from Waymo that were available at the time were entirely redacted, with the company citing confidential business information. Despite the redactions, the posted submissions signal that the probe is advancing after Waymo was granted extra time to prepare materials.
NHTSA had asked Waymo for a wide range of information, including how the company determines speed limits in school zones, whether it has received complaints about how its robotaxis behave around schools, and documentation about its software.
The crash occurred on January 23 near a school in Santa Monica. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released in March, a Waymo Jaguar I-Pace robotaxi was traveling at 17 mph when a 9-year-old girl stepped into the street. The vehicle braked and slowed to 6 mph before striking the student near its front-right headlight assembly. The child fell, walked to the curb, and reported minor injuries; she did not need medical transport. The NTSB’s investigation is separate from NHTSA’s, and it typically releases a final report after 12 months.
NHTSA announced its investigation a week after the crash and sent 12 questions, some with sub-questions, to Waymo on March 23. Waymo’s initial deadline to respond to the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation was May 8, but documents posted Friday show the company requested an extension in a letter dated May 1.
“Our mutual goal is for Waymo to provide relevant information that facilitates ODI’s investigation, while avoiding extraordinary production and review burdens for Waymo and NHTSA ODI that would otherwise not benefit the agency’s investigation,” Matthew Schwall, Waymo’s senior director of safety, wrote in the letter.
Waymo also asked NHTSA to clarify some questions in the May 1 letter. It provided responses to certain questions in a second letter dated July 8. NHTSA granted Waymo additional time to answer 10 of its 12 questions. Waymo told TechCrunch on Thursday that it has completed its submissions.