Grab autonomous vehicle nearly hits schoolgirl at traffic crossing in Punggol

Grab autonomous vehicle nearly hits schoolgirl at traffic crossing in Punggol The vehicle is part of Grab's autonomous shuttle service, which operates on two fixed routes in Punggol. SINGAPORE: A Grab autonomous vehicle (AV) was seen nearly hitting a schoolgirl while making a left turn at a traffic junction in Punggol. A 36-second video posted on Facebook group SG Road Vigilante showed the incident, which occurred at around 8.11am on Thursday (Nov 5). 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. The vehicle is part of Grab's existing autonomous shuttle service which operates on fixed routes in Punggol. Grab currently operates two routes using autonomous vehicles (AV) 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. The company is now preparing to launch an on-demand, point-to-point service across selected locations in Punggol, with more service points to be rolled out in the coming months. 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 (LTA) and our partner WeRide." CNA has also reached out to LTA for comment.