Waymo self-driving car stops moments before hitting runaway dog
By Laurie Perez
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SANTA MONICA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A security camera captured the moment a Waymo self-driving car stopped mere seconds before colliding with a runaway dog in a Santa Monica neighborhood.
Professional photographer Christian Shenouda has taken thousands of dog pictures, but it was his Ring doorbell camera that captured his neighbor’s 8-year-old labrador mix, Trevor, escaping his owner’s yard on Memorial Day.
“The dog actually came out of the house next door and went running down across the street,” he said. “My neighbor’s friend called the dog back and that’s when the Waymo came from the side and stopped just in time. It was amazing.”
After nearly being run over, Trevor sprinted away unscathed, easing his family’s fears as they watched in terror just a few feet away.
“I really don’t think any other person driving a car would have stopped because he’s so short and jumped right out in front of the car,” owner Lucas Kulma said. “It was really amazing. I saw the whole thing and I can’t believe he didn’t get hit.”
Waymo said its cars are equipped with three sensor types to give them a three-dimensional picture of their surroundings. Additionally, data from 20 million miles of real-world driving and 20 billion miles of simulations combine with artificial intelligence to predict how other drivers might respond.
“We rescued him when he was about a year old,” owner Candra Kulma said. “We would’ve been devastated if something happened to him.”
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