Autonomous Waymo with Test Driver Behind the Wheel Runs Over, Kills Dog

By B.N. Frank

Reports continue to indicate that all autonomous (aka self-driving) vehicles – not just Tesla’s – have significant safety issues (see 1, 2, 3, 4). Nevertheless, more of them are coming to U.S. roads, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as well as the cities that welcome them – even the wildly unpredictable Waymos. Recently the company reported another unfortunate incident which also resulted in its first reported fatality.

From Ars Technica:

Autonomous Waymo car runs over dog in San Francisco

The vehicle was in autonomous mode with a safety driver present in a 25 mph zone.

Ron Amadeo

A Waymo Jaguar I-PACE.

One of Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous cars has killed a pet dog. TechCrunch spotted the public report of the incident, which says one of the Waymo Jaguar I-PACE cars ran over a dog in San Francisco while in autonomous mode with a safety driver behind the wheel. Waymo’s collision report says:

On May 21, 2023 at 10:56 AM PT a Waymo Autonomous Vehicle (“Waymo AV”) operating in San Francisco, California was in a collision involving a small dog on Toland Street at Toland Place. The Waymo AV was traveling southwest on Toland Street when a small dog ran into the street in front of the Waymo AV. The Waymo AV then made contact with the dog, which did not survive. At the time of the impact, the Waymo AV’s Level 4 ADS was engaged in autonomous mode, and a test driver was present (in the driver’s seating position). The Waymo AV sustained damage.

The collision was a block from Waymo’s Toland Depot, a 120,000-square-foot warehouse that houses at least 50 autonomous cars. The speed limit on Toland Street is 25 mph, according to posted signs viewable on Google Maps. From that Street View link, the road looks like a busy industrial area with many warehouses, truck delivery areas, and barbed-wire fences.

The corner of Toland St and Toland Place, where the incident happened.

Waymo sent along a statement:

On May 21 in San Francisco, a small dog ran in front of one of our vehicles with an autonomous specialist present in the driver’s seat, and, unfortunately, contact was made. The investigation is ongoing, however the initial review confirmed that the system correctly identified the dog which ran out from behind a parked vehicle but was not able to avoid contact. We send our sincere condolences to the dog’s owner. 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.

The incident is Waymo’s first reported fatality.

Listing image by Waymo

Ron is the Reviews Editor at Ars Technica, where he specializes in Android OS and Google products. He is always on the hunt for a new gadget and loves to rip things apart to see how they work. Previously Ron was an editor for Android Police, and he has about eight years of IT experience. He loves to tinker and always seems to be working on a new project.