<![CDATA[Google’s self-driving car company Waymo loses head of safety]]> https://usagag.com/2020/05/22/googles-self-driving-car-company-waymo-loses-head-of-safety/ Fri, 22 May 2020 15:06:59 +0000 hourly 1 https://usagag.com Google’s self-driving car company Waymo loses head of safety A top executive overseeing safety issues at Google’s self-driving car company Waymo has left the company.

Debbie Hersman is stepping down as chief safety officer after just over a year on the job, Waymo said Thursday, and will instead serve as a consultant to the company.

Hersman, the former chair of the US National Transportation Safety Board, joined Waymo in 2019 following the first-ever fatal crash of a self-driving car the previous year when a self-driving Uber vehicle killed a pedestrian in Arizona.

“We can confirm that Debbie has decided to return to her family home on the East Coast and will continue on as a consultant to Waymo,” the company said in a statement.

Waymo said Tracy Murrell, Waymo’s head of safety and sustainability, would be the company’s interim head of safety. The company said a search was under way for its next head of safety.

A Waymo spokeswoman praised Hersman for “leading the growth of the safety team, establishing Waymo’s safety board as we responsibly progress our technology, and championing Waymo’s culture of safety.”

With Post wires 

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