This browser does not support the Video element.
Self-driving car seen running over duck in Mueller
An autonomous vehicle company is investigating after a local said he watched on of its self-driving cars run over and kill a duck in the Mueller neighborhood.
AUSTIN, Texas - An autonomous vehicle company is investigating after a local says he watched one of its self-driving cars run over and kill a duck in the Mueller neighborhood.
What they're saying:
"I love ducks. I think they're so cute," said Austin resident Faith Allen.
Ducks are a staple of the Mueller community. From their images featured on local business signs, to menu items, to, of course, the real ones waddling around the lake.
Alex Benbow works at Whichcraft Tap Room & Bottle Shop, where he says one female duck was a regular.
"She likes to hang out in that little pot over there, and she just kind of hangs out and people bring her bread and food and water and, you know, make sure she's taken care of," said Benbow. "She's a local legend."
Until she stopped showing up.
A Mueller resident posted in a community Facebook group saying he saw an Avride self-driving car run over and kill a duck near the park last Tuesday. The post claims the vehicle never slowed down and kept driving. That man also alleges that prior to that, the car failed to stop at a stop sign, almost hitting his car.
Avride's website states its vehicles are designed to be safer than human drivers with a 360-degree view of the cars, never tire, get distracted or break rules. The vehicles are built with multiple lidars, radars and cameras along with specialized computing to detect objects and navigate the road.
"It's a human thing to stop for animals, not a robot thing. I'm mad. It's a little sad. It could have been avoided," said Benbow.
Many in the community were saddened by the news and were left with questions.
"I just want to know how that happened. That's really sad. How did it not detect a duck?" said Allen.
"Those things about the like the thing about those vehicles is that they lack human instinct and nature to avoid things like that and so that's awful, but I'm also not surprised," said Austin resident Kynzi Soukup.
Some want to see more changes moving forward.
"I feel like petitions could be had and probably signed by many a folk in Austin. So, I don't know exactly what the next step is, but I feel it needs some direction to let them know they either need to fix their stuff or get them off the roads," said Benbow.
Avride responds
The company sent FOX 7 Austin the following statement:
"Avride takes safety very seriously, and this case is currently under thorough internal review. Our vehicles are designed to operate in compliance with applicable traffic laws, using onboard systems to detect and respond to road conditions, road users, and obstacles. We are actively evaluating specific technological solutions to help prevent similar incidents going forward. As a precaution, while this work is ongoing, we have temporarily excluded certain streets from testing. We have also reviewed our operating protocols and provided additional guidance to safety personnel as part of our standard safety review process."
Avride says it paused operations on certain streets around Lake Mueller.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King