A minibus driver who often drives around the Punggol and Sengkang area had a rude shock when the autonomous vehicle in front of him seemingly failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing.
A young girl who was about to cross while the green man was on thankfully managed to step back in time, avoiding a collision.
The incident compelled the driver to share a word of warning with all pedestrians in the area.
Autonomous Grab shuttle nearly collides with girl in Punggol
Stomper Faris Kamsani was driving along Punggol Field Walk at about 8.11am on Nov 5 when he spotted an autonomous vehicle in front making a turn at a traffic junction.
Dashcam footage shared with Stomp shows the vehicle’s left signal light blinking as it makes a left turn, at a junction where a woman and a child are waiting to cross.
According to Faris, the pedestrian light had just turned green, which could explain why the child confidently takes a step forward to begin crossing.
Unfortunately, the autonomous shuttle — operated by Grab and WeRide — seemingly fails to detect the child and continues on its way, despite slowing down slightly while turning.
Luckily, the young girl spots the vehicle in time and hastily steps back, after which the woman reaches out to grab her and hug her tightly.
Both of them look on, seemingly in shock, as the autonomous shuttle keeps driving ahead.
Grab reviewing incident with LTA and WeRide
Reeling from the shock of the near-collision too, Faris expressed his concern for the safety of residents in the area, especially parents with young children: “Parents, please take note and remind your children to be extra careful when crossing at traffic lights around Punggol and Sengkang.
“If you happen to come across any Grab autonomous (AI-driven) vehicles, please stay alert and exercise extra caution, even when you have the green light and the right of way.”
He added that he had called the hotline printed on the back of the vehicle and was told that the company is aware of the incident and is looking into it.
In response to a Stomp query, a Grab spokesperson confirmed this, saying: “Safety is our top priority. We are aware of this incident and are closely reviewing it together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and our partner WeRide.”
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