Tech

A woman severely hurt in a bicycle crash with a Waymo robotaxi is suing the company, claiming one of its vehicles pulled over in a no-stopping zone next to a bike lane, and a passenger opened a door into her path — despite the car’s “Safe Exit” system touted by the Mountain View company as protection for passing cyclists.

Waymo in online marketing materials says its robotaxi Safe Exit sensor and warning systems provide departing passengers with “explicit audio and visual alerts that inform them when a cyclist or other road user is approaching as they exit the car.” The company cites San Francisco’s transit agency in noting that collisions between cyclists and vehicle doors — incidents known as “doorings” — are the city’s second most common collisions causing death or injury.

The passengers from the robotaxi whose door hit Hanke said at the scene that no alert had been given before one of them opened the door into the bike lane, Hanke said. The lawsuit alleged “a malfunction, failure to engage, or design flaw” in the alert system.