![]() ![]() The driver, however, was taken to a nearby hospital with unspecified, moderate injuries. Photo of Waymo Via’s lidar sensor, which was damaged in a crash in Texas. Waymo reported that its truck was driving in autonomous mode at 62 miles per hour, slightly below the speed limit, when the other truck entered its lane and forced it off the road. Like many workers in Waymo vehicles, both were actually employed by Transdev, a multinational transit and mobility company.Īlthough the ultimate aim of automated trucks is to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, staffing costs, self-driving truck startups today operate with a safety driver and an engineer or technician on board. roads to date.Īccording to Waymo, the Peterbilt 579 truck was not carrying freight for any customers or partners it was conducting “standard” testing with a weighted load.īehind the wheel was a 40-year-old autonomous specialist with a decade of truck driving experience there was also a software operator on board. Using reports from local police and the Department of Transportation, and data supplied by Waymo to NHTSA, TechCrunch has attempted to reconstruct the worst self-driving truck crash on U.S. That pilot is due to start in July on the same stretch of I-45 highway where the May crash occurred. Earlier this month, it committed to a long-term strategic partnership with Uber and announced a pilot delivery program with home goods e-tailer Wayfair. It then expanded into New Mexico and Texas, and inked deals with logistics companies like J.B. In 2018, Waymo began hauling freight in Georgia, and it branded its delivery business Waymo Via in 2020. All have qualified truck drivers - known as autonomous specialists - in the driver’s seat. Waymo’s self-driving trucks, which are part of a delivery and logistics division the company calls Waymo Via, rely on similar technologies to its robotaxis: a suite of sensors, including cameras, radars and lidars, and powerful on-board computers. At the time, it was in the middle of an epic legal battle with Uber over technology allegedly taken from Waymo by engineer Anthony Levandowski, and subsequently purchased by Uber as part of self-driving truck startup Otto. Waymo started testing its driverless technology with semi trucks in 2017, beginning in California and Arizona. One crash, even if the company is not at fault, could tarnish the public’s image of the technology. ![]() The stakes for the autonomous trucking industry, which is still in its infancy, couldn’t be any higher. While Waymo’s autonomous semi truck was not at fault in the hit and run, the incident highlights gaps in reporting mechanisms, and raises questions about how ready the public and law enforcement are to cope with heavy, fast-moving vehicles that have no human driver. She was later taken to a hospital for injuries that Waymo described in its report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as “moderate.” The other truck drove off without stopping. The driver of the Waymo Via truck told police that the other semi truck continued to maneuver into the lane, forcing Waymo’s truck and trailer off the roadway. At 3:11 p.m., just outside Ennis, the modified Peterbilt was traveling in the far right lane when a passing truck and trailer combo entered its lane. On May 5, a Class 8 Waymo Via truck operating in autonomous mode with a human safety operator behind the wheel was hauling a trailer northbound on Interstate 45 toward Dallas, Texas. Their deaths were the subject of a coronial inquest, which recommended lower speed limits for heavy vehicles and tougher penalties for drivers who do not use a safety ramp.The most serious crash to date involving a self-driving truck might have resulted in only moderate injuries, but it exposed how unprepared local government and law enforcement are to deal with the new technology. John Posnakidis, 42, was killed by an out-of-control semi-trailer when he was waiting at a bus stop for assistance at the same intersection. They included the death of 41-year-old truck driver James Venning, who died when he slammed into a wall at the intersection in January 2014. The intersection was the location of several fatal crashes in South Australia. Part of Portrush, Cross and Glen Osmond roads will remain closed overnight, police say. I've seen some accidents but not like this. "The truck flipped and it just scraped the ground," he said. Nearby resident Chris Parsons ran out of his home when he heard the crash and saw people rushing to help at the scene. She said she saw the truck had rolled over the top of several cars. Nikolina Withers was on the bus when it was hit by a truck at the intersection of South Eastern Freeway and Cross Road. ![]()
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