Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe
Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe
Waymo 在美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）针对儿童碰撞事故的调查中提交相关文件
Waymo has responded to questions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of the regulator’s investigation into a January crash in which a robotaxi struck a child at low speed. An initial batch of documents was posted to NHTSA’s website on Friday morning after TechCrunch inquired about them earlier in the week. The agency told TechCrunch that it is “reviewing other responses and will publish them in the investigation file upon completion.”
Waymo 已就美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）对其一月份一起机器人出租车低速撞击儿童事故的调查，回应了监管机构提出的问题。在 TechCrunch 本周早些时候进行询问后，首批文件已于周五上午发布在 NHTSA 的网站上。该机构向 TechCrunch 表示，他们正在“审查其他回复，并将在完成后将其发布在调查档案中。”
The responses from Waymo that were available at the time this article was published were entirely redacted, citing “confidential business information.” While the information is redacted, the posted responses signal that the investigation is progressing after Waymo was granted extra time to prepare them. NHTSA asked for a wide swath of information about how Waymo determines speed limits in school zones, whether the company has received any complaints about how its robotaxis behave around schools, and for documentation about Waymo’s software, among other things.
截至本文发布时，Waymo 所提供的回复内容均已被遮盖，理由是涉及“商业机密信息”。尽管信息被遮盖，但这些已发布的回应表明，在 Waymo 获得额外准备时间后，调查工作正在推进。NHTSA 要求 Waymo 提供大量信息，包括 Waymo 如何确定学校区域的限速、公司是否收到过关于其机器人出租车在学校周边行为的投诉，以及有关 Waymo 软件的文档等。
The crash in question occurred on January 23 in Santa Monica, California. One of Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis was traveling near a school when a nine-year-old girl stepped into the street. The robotaxi was traveling 17 miles per hour, but it braked and reduced its speed to six miles per hour before colliding with the student “near its front-right headlight assembly,” according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released in March. The child fell, then walked to the curb and reported minor injuries, according to that report. She did not need medical transport.
此次事故发生在 1 月 23 日，地点位于加利福尼亚州圣莫尼卡。当时，Waymo 的一辆捷豹 I-Pace 机器人出租车正在学校附近行驶，一名九岁女孩走入街道。根据美国国家运输安全委员会（NTSB）三月份发布的初步报告，该机器人出租车当时的时速为 17 英里，但在与学生发生碰撞前，车辆已刹车并将速度降至 6 英里/小时，碰撞点位于“右前大灯组件附近”。报告称，孩子摔倒后走到路边，并报告受了轻伤，无需医疗转运。
The NTSB’s investigation is separate from the one being performed by NHTSA. It typically releases a final, more detailed report after 12 months. NHTSA announced it was investigating the crash one week after it happened, and the regulator sent 12 questions (some with sub-questions) to Waymo on March 23. Waymo’s initial deadline to respond to questions from NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) was May 8, but the documents posted Friday show the company asked for an extension in a letter dated May 1.
NTSB 的调查与 NHTSA 的调查是相互独立的。NTSB 通常会在 12 个月后发布最终的详细报告。NHTSA 在事故发生一周后宣布对此进行调查，并于 3 月 23 日向 Waymo 发送了 12 个问题（部分包含子问题）。Waymo 最初回复 NHTSA 缺陷调查办公室（ODI）问题的截止日期是 5 月 8 日，但周五发布的文件显示，该公司在 5 月 1 日的一封信中申请了延期。
“Our mutual goal is for Waymo to provide relevant information that facilitates ODI’s investigation, while avoiding extraordinary production and review burdens for Waymo and NHTSA ODI that would otherwise not benefit the agency’s investigation,” Matthew Schwall, Waymo’s senior director of safety, wrote in the letter. Waymo asked NHTSA to clarify some of the questions in its May 1 letter while asking for an extension. Waymo provided responses to some of the questions in a second letter dated July 8. NHTSA granted Waymo additional time to answer 10 of its 12 questions. Waymo told TechCrunch on Thursday that it has completed its submissions.
Waymo 安全高级总监 Matthew Schwall 在信中写道：“我们的共同目标是让 Waymo 提供有助于 ODI 调查的相关信息，同时避免给 Waymo 和 NHTSA ODI 带来不必要的额外制作和审查负担，因为这些负担对机构的调查并无益处。”Waymo 在 5 月 1 日的信中在申请延期的同时，还要求 NHTSA 对部分问题进行澄清。Waymo 在 7 月 8 日的第二封信中对部分问题提供了回复。NHTSA 批准了 Waymo 对 12 个问题中的 10 个问题进行延期回答。Waymo 周四告诉 TechCrunch，其已完成所有提交工作。