Waymo Driverless Car Strikes Bicyclist In San Francisco, Causes Minor Injuries

One of Waymo's driverless vehicles struck a cyclist in San Francisco on February 6th, causing minor injuries. "It was the latest incident in the city at a time when tensions around autonomous vehicles are particularly high after a driverless Cruise vehicle injured a pedestrian," reports The Verge. From the report: The incident, which was first reported by Reuters, occurred at 3:02PM on February 6th at the intersection of 17th and Mississippi streets in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. A Google Maps Street View of the intersection shows a flat, well-lit area surrounded by warehouses with unprotected bike lanes on both streets. Police officers arriving at the scene found an autonomous vehicle had struck a cyclist, who only reported "non-life threatening injuries," according to Eve Laokwansathitaya, public information officer with SFPD. A passenger in the Waymo vehicle at the time of the crash was uninjured. The incident remains under investigation, Laokwansathitaya noted. Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina had more details to share. The Waymo vehicle was stopped at a four-way stop, as an oncoming large truck began to turn into the intersection. The vehicle waited until it was its turn and then also began to proceed through the intersection, failing to notice the cyclist who was traveling behind the truck. "The cyclist was occluded by the truck and quickly followed behind it, crossing into the Waymo vehicle's path," Ilina said. "When they became fully visible, our vehicle applied heavy braking but was not able to avoid the collision." After the incident, Waymo contacted the police, but the cyclist left on their own, reporting only "minor scratches," Ilina added.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.