Bill Handel spoke about autonomous cars after a Waymo self-driving vehicle struck a child near Grant Elementary School in Santa Monica, California, during school drop-off hours on Tuesday (January 23), prompting federal investigations into the incident. The child sustained minor injuries and was treated by first responders before being released at the scene, according to statements from police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The NHTSA said the child ran into the road from behind a double-parked SUV and was detected by the Waymo vehicle’s sensors as soon as they appeared. The autonomous car, operating without a human safety operator, braked quickly, reducing its speed from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before making contact with the child. The incident happened within two blocks of the school while other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles were nearby.
Bill Handel said that a human driver would have also struck the child, and noted that people on focus on the rare instances when self-driving cars make mistakes. He believes that once autonomous cars are the norm, there won't be any more traffic on the busy streets of LA.
"Gridlock is finished at that point because cars can go along the freeway at 65 miles per hour. They can be 10 feet from each other, five feet from each other, do lane changes, safely, and there there won't be any, there won't be any sudden stops. I mean, it's it's going to be terrific."