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SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has directed Grab to pause autonomous vehicle (AV) testing at some junctions after one of its vehicles nearly hit a schoolgirl while making a left turn in Punggol.<\/span><\/p>\n LTA said on Friday (Nov 6) that it was informed of the incident a day earlier and is investigating.<\/span><\/p>\n Preliminary data showed that the vehicle had detected two pedestrians and was continuously tracking their movements, LTA said.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n The safety operator on board then took control of the vehicle and continued braking and steering it away from the pedestrian, the authority added.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.”<\/span><\/p>\n A 36-second video posted on Facebook group SG Road Vigilante showed the incident, which occurred at around 8.11am on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The vehicle slowed down after the near miss before continuing on its way.<\/p>\n LTA said the vehicle was testing a new route in preparation for Grab’s <\/span>enhanced on-demand travel service<\/span> in Punggol.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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