A Grab autonomous vehicle was caught on camera nearly hitting a schoolgirl while making a left turn at a traffic junction in Punggol, raising questions about road safety as autonomous shuttle services continue expanding in Singapore.
The incident happened at around 8.11am on Thursday (5 November), according to a 36-second video shared on the Facebook group SG Road Vigilante.
The footage showed a young girl crossing the road when a Grab autonomous vehicle approached while making a discretionary left turn. The vehicle appeared to come dangerously close to the girl, narrowly avoiding a collision.
After the near miss, the autonomous vehicle slowed down briefly before continuing along its journey.
Grab Autonomous Shuttle Operating In Punggol
The vehicle involved in the incident is part of Grab’s existing autonomous shuttle service in Punggol, where the company operates two routes using autonomous vehicles developed by Chinese autonomous driving technology firm WeRide.
ComfortDelGro also operates an autonomous shuttle service in the area, running one route using vehicles developed by Pony.ai, another company specialising in autonomous driving technology.
The services form part of Singapore’s broader efforts to introduce autonomous vehicles into its public transport network, with Punggol serving as one of the locations where these services are being tested and deployed.
Grab Planning To Expand Autonomous Vehicle Fleet
In September, Grab announced plans to increase its autonomous vehicle fleet from 10 to 50 vehicles