A self-driving car in Texas ran over and killed a mother duck, sparking neighborhood outrage

The death of a duck in the Mueller Lake enclave of Austin, Texas, has residents raising concerns about autonomous vehicles and whether they belong there.

While humans are responsible for killing animals with their cars all the time, this incident has brought negative attention to the new technology. Local media learned of the duck incident after a resident posted in a Mueller neighborhood Facebook group that an Avride self-driving vehicle (with a human safety operator behind the wheel) hit and killed a duck, and did not stop afterward. “He didn’t slow down or hesitate at all, he just moved forward,” the post said, which KXAN reported on, read.

Residents’ familiarity with this particular duck, which nested in a pot located outside a local Italian restaurant, has added to outrage and distrust toward self-driving vehicle technology. For those worried about the future of duck eggs, local residents are keeping them in an incubator, Axios’ Austin information.

An Avride spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the vehicle was in autonomous mode at the time. Avride has not completely suspended testing on public roads. However, the company has adapted its area of ​​operations by excluding certain streets around the lake in the neighborhood where the duck incident occurred, according to spokeswoman Yulia Shveyko.

The resident also claimed in his post that the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign. Avride told TechCrunch that it found no evidence to support that claim. The vehicle came to a complete and proper stop at all relevant stop signs.

Shveyko said the team reviewed the vehicle’s data and behavior, including playing the scene several times in simulation. Avride is now evaluating possible improvements to the technology to help avoid similar situations in the future, he said. In particular, this includes conducting a series of controlled experiments in simulation to ensure that any changes do not negatively affect the safety performance of the vehicle in other scenarios.

Avride is not the only company testing or commercially deploying autonomous vehicles in the city. Zoox has been conducting tests in the city. Tesla and Waymo, in partnership with Uber, also operate a commercial robotaxi service in parts of Austin.