US regulators are again investigating Waymo after a robotaxi struck a child near a California elementary school, renewing concerns over autonomous vehicle safety.
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| The latest Waymo investigation highlights growing regulatory pressure on autonomous vehicles operating near schools and vulnerable pedestrians. Image: CH |
Santa Monica, USA — February 2, 2026:
The US administration’s renewed investigation into Waymo’s robotaxi program reflects mounting unease over how autonomous vehicles perform in the most sensitive and unpredictable traffic environments. The latest trigger—a collision involving a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica—has intensified scrutiny of whether self-driving systems are prepared to handle scenarios where human behavior is inherently difficult to predict.
The incident occurred on January 23 during routine school drop-off hours, just two blocks from an elementary school. According to Waymo, its autonomous taxi was traveling at roughly six miles per hour when a child suddenly stepped out from behind a large SUV and fell into the vehicle’s path. The company says its sensors detected the child immediately and that the vehicle braked sharply. The child reportedly stood up and walked to the sidewalk shortly after the impact, and emergency services were called. Waymo has stated that the injuries were not serious, though it has not disclosed the child’s age or identity.
For regulators, however, the absence of severe injury does not diminish the seriousness of the event. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating whether Waymo’s vehicle exercised sufficient caution given the context: a school zone, active drop-off traffic, double-parked vehicles, a crossing guard, and multiple children present. These conditions represent a worst-case scenario for autonomous systems, where limited visibility and erratic pedestrian movement are common.
The investigation also comes against the backdrop of broader concerns about Waymo’s operational record. The company’s robotaxis are already under review for alleged violations of school bus safety laws. NHTSA opened an inquiry following an incident in Atlanta last year, while the National Transportation Safety Board launched a separate investigation after receiving reports of nearly 20 similar encounters in Austin, Texas. Together, these probes suggest regulators are no longer treating such incidents as isolated anomalies.
Waymo has attempted to contextualize the Santa Monica collision by arguing that a fully attentive human driver in the same situation would likely have struck the child at a significantly higher speed—about 14 miles per hour. While the comparison is intended to underscore the relative safety benefits of autonomous driving, it also raises a deeper policy question: should self-driving cars merely outperform average human drivers, or should they be held to a stricter standard precisely because they are engineered systems designed to reduce risk?
Another source of regulatory pressure is transparency. Waymo has not released a detailed technical analysis of the crash, leaving unanswered questions about how its system assessed the school-zone environment, whether it adjusted its driving behavior appropriately for drop-off hours, and how it prioritizes caution when visibility is obstructed by parked vehicles. As autonomous vehicles become more common, regulators are increasingly demanding clearer explanations of how these systems make decisions in real time.
The renewed scrutiny highlights a broader shift in how autonomous driving is being evaluated. Early discussions focused on whether self-driving cars could function safely in controlled or predictable settings. Now, the emphasis is on their performance in complex, human-centric environments—schools, dense urban streets, and mixed traffic zones—where mistakes carry significant social and political consequences.
Ultimately, the US administration’s investigation into Waymo is less about a single collision and more about accountability at scale. As robotaxis continue to operate on public roads, incidents involving children and other vulnerable road users will remain a critical test of both the technology’s maturity and the regulatory framework governing its deployment. Until autonomous systems can convincingly demonstrate heightened caution in these settings, repeated scrutiny is likely to remain the norm rather than the exception.