Waymo has confirmed that on Sunday night one of its driverless robotaxis ran over a small dog in San Francisco, in yet another instance of the company’s cars striking a beloved pet.
“Unfortunately, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a small, unleashed dog in the roadway,” a spokesperson told the San Francisco news outlet Mission Local on Monday. “We are dedicated to learning from this situation and how we show up for our community as we continue improving road safety in the cities we serve.”
The dog’s condition at this time is unclear.
“We have not received a status update on the dog,” the Waymo spokesperson told the outlet.
The incident was first brought to light on Reddit by the passenger inside the car who was riding with their family when the collision happened.
“Our Waymo just ran over a dog. Trying to call customer support,” the passenger wrote in a post on the night of the accident. “Called the police. Crowd is gathering not sure what to do.”
According to the passenger’s account described across multiple posts, the dog, which they said was between 20 and 30 pounds and off its leash, was “rolling around” the middle of the road when the Waymo “rolled right over it.”
“Dog started yelping and screaming,” the rider wrote. “Kids were crying. Wife was screaming.”
In a differing account the passenger told the moderators of the Waymo subreddit, they said they “didn’t see the dog before the impact, but the kids were screaming about it.”
The rider sounded conflicted about whether the robotaxi could’ve done more to avoid the accident. In one post, they wrote that a “distracted driver” might have struck the dog, but that the “average driver would have slammed on the [brakes]” in the same situation.
In another update, however, they were less confident about that assessment. “Honestly [I’m] not sure a human driver would have avoided the dog either though I do know that [a] human would have responded differently to a ‘bump’ followed by a car full of screaming people.”
San Francisco Animal Care and Control confirmed to Mission Local that it had received a complaint about the accident. Later, the passenger provided an update saying a Waymo representative called to check on their family.
The collision comes just weeks after another Waymo robotaxi killed a bodega cat named Kit Kat who was widely adored by locals in a San Francisco neighborhood. The tabby’s death sparked outrage in the community and became a national news story, fueling debates over autonomous vehicle regulation. A shrine was erected to the “Mayor of 16th Street,” as the feline was affectionately nicknamed, while the city’s homo sapien mayor Daniel Lurie gloated about being a fan of Waymo and called the service “incredibly safe.”
Tone deaf as the remark may have been, it wasn’t an unfounded assertion. Waymo’s safety record, at least according to data it’s shared with the public, is the best in the industry and appears to put human drivers to shame. With 96 million fully-driverless rides driven as of June, Waymo claims that its cabs are 91 percent less likely to be involved in crashes causing serious injury or worse than the average human motorist. It’s never been involved in a fatal accident.
Accidents do happen, though. Two years ago, a Waymo struck and killed a dog in San Francisco, and the robotaxis sometimes hit pedestrians and bicyclists (in many cases, the other party was found to be at fault.) At times, they also clearly struggle to navigate traffic. Their presence, as a consequence, remains contentious with residents, who sometimes target the vehicles with vandalism, if not immolation.
The passenger involved in this latest accident, however, remains a fan — traumatized family notwithstanding.
“While it’s going to be a while before my kids will be willing to try it again, I am happy with Waymo’s response and personally look forward to trying the service again,” the rider wrote.
More on robotaxis: Waymo Forced to Halt Overnight Operations As Punishment for Causing Nonstop Ruckus
The post Children Sob as Waymo Runs Over Dog appeared first on Futurism.
