A small dog was run over by one of Waymo’s self-driving cars being tested out in the streets of San Francisco late last month.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, issued a statement explaining that the dog ran out of a vagrant encampment on Toland Street and darted in front of the vehicle, according to KRON 4.
There was an “autonomous specialist” in the driver’s seat at the time, but neither the specialist nor the automated driving system was able to react in time to avoid hitting and killing the dog.
“We send our sincere condolences to the dog’s owner,” the statement read, according to KRON 4. “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.”
Both Waymo and Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, have been running small-scale tests of their self-driving taxis in the Bay area after receiving permission from the California Public Utilities Commission.
As The Dallas Express reported, the upcoming expansion of Cruise into Dallas was hinted at through several job ads appearing in May.
This technology has been touted as capable of transforming the way people and goods — as in the case of self-driving trucks — are transported.
For instance, Krogers in Dallas-Fort Worth entered a partnership with the California-based logistics firm Gatik to shift to using fully driverless trucks by next year in order to streamline its online grocery orders, as The Dallas Express reported.
Despite heralding in improved efficiency, safety, and convenience, reports of accidents like the dog recently run over have led some to question the rollout of driverless cars.
The authorities in San Francisco reported receiving hundreds of 911 calls this past year relating to self-driving taxis driving erratically or blocking traffic, according to SF Gate.
Social media users have also posted photos attesting to disruptions caused by autonomous vehicles.
autonomous car stuck in the intersection @Waymo pic.twitter.com/Ov8ImRhML4
— fungi (@melon6ix) January 24, 2023
Thank you Dan for curating these FSD videos for us. I love seeing how much it has improved over just a few months! I know Tesla just announced advertising but they already get it for free from you! 🤣 Good thing it only “almost hit it” unlike this Cruise vehicle that hit the bus! pic.twitter.com/YoLjgGMKPk
— Nun ya Business (@nunyabizkness) May 18, 2023
Yet there are also several posts showing users successfully getting rides from these taxis in which all things appear to operate normally.
First time ride with @Waymo. Loved it and I am now hooked. Awesome experience. pic.twitter.com/h3WZDIi5VI
— Jeff Hitchens (@JeffHitchens) June 11, 2023
Just got back from a 500 mile road trip with my Model 3, FSD handled all of the driving with 0 disengagements. Was curious how @Waymo’s driverless car stacked up, so I went for a ride.
There wasn’t much traffic and it was a simple route, but it handled everything very nicely.… pic.twitter.com/JYzPUaHfDG
— Nathan (@NateWiki) June 12, 2023
It remains to be seen how the technology will advance and whether self-driving vehicles will eventually manage to break into the mainstream.
