# Toyota halts its self-driving e-Palette pods at the Paralympic Village after one hits a visually impaired athlete

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/toyota-halts-its-self-driving-e-palette-pods-at-the-paralympic-village-c5f1d95f
Date: 27 Aug 2021
About: [Toyota](https://technooptimist.io/companies/toyota.md) · [e-Palette](https://technooptimist.io/vehicles/e-palette.md)
Original source: https://www.tbsnews.net/features/wheels/toyota-halts-all-self-driving-e-palette-vehicles-after-olympic-village-accident

Toyota suspended all e-Palette pods carrying athletes around the Tokyo Paralympic Village, a day after one struck a visually impaired pedestrian. The pod had stopped at a T-junction and was turning under an operator's manual control at about 1 to 2 km/h. Akio Toyoda said the accident showed autonomous vehicles were not yet realistic for normal roads.

## Key facts

- The athlete was bruised, treated at the village medical centre and walked back to his residence.
- The pods were a Games version of the 2018 concept, with large doors and electric ramps.
- Toyota cooperated with a police investigation and ran its own.

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