LTA directs Grab to pause some AV testing after near miss with schoolgirl in Punggol - CNA

The Land Transport Authority said the vehicle involved was testing a new route in preparation for Grab's enhanced on-demand travel service in Punggol.

A screengrab from a video showing a Grab autonomous vehicle involved in a near miss with a young girl in Punggol. (Photo: Facebook/SG Road Vigilante)

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SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has told Grab to pause some autonomous vehicle (AV) testing after one of its vehicles nearly hit a schoolgirl while making a left turn in Punggol.

LTA said on Friday (Nov 6) that it was informed of the incident a day earlier and is investigating.

Preliminary data showed that the vehicle had detected two pedestrians and was continuously tracking their movements, LTA said.

After the traffic light turned green, the vehicle began making a left turn. The pedestrians were initially stationary, but when the child began crossing the road, the vehicle started braking and steered to the right, according to LTA.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The safety operator on board then took control of the vehicle and continued braking and steering it away from the pedestrian, the authority added.

It has directed Grab to pause testing at such junctions until investigations are completed and said it would review whether the response to such scenarios should be adjusted.

In response to CNA's queries, a Grab spokesperson said: "Safety is our top priority. We are aware of this incident and are closely reviewing it together with the Land Transport Authority and our partner WeRide."

A 36-second video posted on Facebook group SG Road Vigilante showed the incident, which occurred at around 8.11am on Thursday.

In the footage, a young girl was seen crossing the road when a Grab autonomous vehicle appeared to come close to hitting her while making a discretionary left turn. 

The vehicle slowed down after the near miss before continuing on its way.

LTA said the vehicle was testing a new route in preparation for Grab's enhanced on-demand travel service in Punggol.

The company is preparing to launch the point-to-point service across selected locations in Punggol, with more service points to be rolled out in the coming months.

Grab currently operates two routes using autonomous vehicles developed by AV company WeRide, while ComfortDelGro operates one route using vehicles by AV company Pony.ai.

In September, Grab announced plans to expand its AV fleet from 10 to 50 vehicles over six months as it looks to extend its services beyond Punggol to other parts of Singapore.