Jenifer Hanki was cycling down Seventh Street in San Francisco when an autonomous Waymo pulled into her marked bike lane and a passenger popped open a back door, colliding with her bike and ejecting her into the side of a second Waymo also pulling into the bicycle pathway, according to a lawsuit.
Hanki alleges the company’s Safe Exit system, designed to warn passengers of such incoming hazards, failed in the February crash. She sued Mountain View-based Waymo and its parent company, Alphabet, this month in San Francisco County Superior Court alleging battery, emotional distress and negligence while seeking unspecified damages.
“Unlike Uber, Lyft, or taxis, where drivers actively monitor traffic and often lock doors or guide passengers to exit safely, Waymo’s system fell short significantly,” Hanki said in a released statement. “There was no alert issued in the illegally parked car as according to the passengers. Human drivers prevent accidents every day by assessing real-time risks, something Waymo’s ‘Safe Exit’ system clearly cannot handle.”…