General Motors’ Cruise division has been in the news a lot lately, but Waymo has stayed mostly out of the spotlight. That changed earlier this week when one of its autonomous taxis struck a bicyclist in San Francisco, though it appears the situation might have even challenged human drivers.
The Waymo car was next to a large truck at an intersection. As it moved forward, a cyclist behind the truck entered its path. Though the car braked heavily, it was unable to avoid a collision, but thankfully, the bicyclist did not need a ride to the hospital after the accident. Waymo, part of Alphabet, called the police, who said they were investigating the incident.
While this ended about as well as it could have, with no serious injuries, it likely won’t help Waymo’s expansion plans. It is currently working to expand services in Los Angeles, but this incident and Cruise’s troubles won’t help its cause.
The collision happened just a day ago, so we don’t yet know Waymo’s response or if this will lead to updates to prevent additional accidents. Cruise has paused operations and issued a recall for many of its vehicles to address issues that cause some of its issues, which could be a warning sign to people hoping for a smoother recovery from Waymo.
[Image: Phil Pasquini via Shutterstock]
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