Waymo is now fully operational in San Francisco and a settlement was reached with Cruise regarding a pedestrian-involved collision in the city last year.

Waymo says it has been scaling its service in the city for years, with about 30% of rides to local businesses, according to a June 25 Waymo blog post. Nearly 300,000 people have been on a waitlist for rides that are now open to everyone, the company said.

Both Waymo and Cruise as well as Zoox have all been under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Last week, Cruise was ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to pay $112,500 to settle and end the agency’s inquiry into an October 2023 collision in which one of the self-driving cars hit and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco, according to The San Francisco Examiner.

Last month, NHTSA began investigating collisions reported by Waymo and Zoox under its Standing General Order 2021-01 (SGO). It requires OEMs to report crashes on public roads that involve Level 2 or higher advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) if the systems are in use within 30 seconds of a collision that causes injury or property damage.

Waymo reported 22 collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects such as gates, chains, and parked vehicles as well as instances in which the automated driving system appeared to disobey traffic safety control devices, according to NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.

“In certain incidents, a collision occurred shortly after the ADS exhibited unexpected behavior near traffic safety control devices,” a May 13 investigatory document posted by ODI states. “…Other incidents, such as vehicles driving in opposing lanes with nearby oncoming traffic or entering construction zones, were identified based on publicly available reports.

A May 10 NHTSA document states that ODI received reports of two incidents involving Zoox vehicles that braked suddenly, each causing a motorcyclist to rear-end the AVs. Minor injuries were reported, according to the ODI.

Earlier this month, Waymo recalled its entire Arizona fleet, 672 vehicles, after one struck a telephone pole in Phoenix, according to the Associated Press.

According to the AP and NHTSA, the vehicle was in an alley attempting to perform a low-speed pullover maneuver. No passengers or other road users were reportedly involved in the incident.

“Waymo has completed a software update that improves the automated driving system’s response to poles or pole-like permanent objects,” the AP said on June 13. “It also provided a map update to include a hard road edge between the pole or pole-like object and the driveable surface.”

Waymo said on its blog earlier this week that it has logged more than 20 million rider-only miles and nearly 2 million paid rider-only public trips. Now, its goal is to make roads safer, Waymo said.

“Road safety is urgent. Thirty-nine people were killed on San Francisco’s roads in 2022 and 25 more in 2023, with thousands reporting injuries every year. Traffic violence kills around 40,000 people in the U.S. annually. The status quo on road safety doesn’t serve the people of San Francisco, and the Waymo Driver can help change that.”

Patricia Rillera, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) California state executive director, added, “Drunk driving remains the leading cause of fatalities and injuries on American roads, claiming over 13,000 lives in 2021 alone. As drivers increasingly drive while impaired, the need for technological intervention becomes evident. MADD proudly collaborates with autonomous vehicle leaders like Waymo, recognizing their potential to prevent tragedies caused by impaired, distracted, and drowsy driving.”

Waymo claims its “track record for safe operations is unparalleled.”

“We’ve been safely transporting passengers for over six years; now providing more than 50,000 rides a week across three major urban areas. Over more than 30 scientific papers, it’s become clear that the Waymo Driver is already improving road safety in the cities where we operate. The Waymo Driver avoids high-severity collisions better than even the most attentive human drivers, and the data shows that we have fewer insurance claims and injuries or police reports than human drivers.”

According to Waymo’s data, within the more than 3.8 million rider-only miles driven in San Francisco through the end of March, vehicles were involved in 17 fewer crashes with injuries and 12 fewer police-reportable crashes compared to human drivers.

We’re committed to growing our service gradually and responsibly. We work closely with city and state officials, first responders, and advocates for road safety to ensure our service helps local communities gain access to reliable, safe, environmentally friendly transportation and has a positive impact on mobility.

In March, the commission approved allowing Waymo to operate in the Peninsula and Los Angeles despite opposition from city officials following the approval of 24-hour Cruise and Waymo services in San Francisco last August.

Images

Featured image: A Waymo self-driving vehicle waits for passengers to board in San Francisco. (Provided by Waymo)