(Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Image)
GM-owned Cruise is halting all self-driving car operations after California’s DMV suspended the company’s state permit to operate the vehicles, citing them as a risk to public safety.
"The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust," Cruise says.
In addition to San Francisco, the company has also been testing the vehicles in in Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas, while eyeing an expansion in other cities.
“We have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust,” Cruise said in a statement on Twitter/X.
California’s DMV suspended the company’s permit after a Cruise vehicle ran over a San Francisco pedestrian who'd been hit by another vehicle and flung into the path of the Cruise car.
On Tuesday, California’s DMV alleged that Cruise vehicles don't just pose a public hazard, but that the company withheld information during the investigation and misrepresented the safety of its autonomous vehicles.
According to the DMV’s suspension order, the company showed the department video footage from the accident. However, “footage of the subsequent movement of the AV to perform a pullover maneuver was not shown to the department and Cruise did not disclose that any additional movement of the vehicle had occurred after the initial stop of the vehicle,” it said.
DMV officials learned of the additional footage from a separate agency. Those clips show the Cruise vehicle attempted a “pullover maneuver while the pedestrian was underneath the vehicle.”
“The AV traveled approximately 20 feet and reached a speed of 7mph before coming to a subsequent and final stop. The pedestrian remained under the vehicle,” the order says.
“This action increased the risk of, and may have caused, further injury to the pedestrian,” the order adds. “The subsequent maneuvering of the vehicle indicates that Cruise’s vehicles may lack the ability to respond in a safe and appropriate manner during incidents involving a pedestrian so as not to unnecessarily put the pedestrian or others at risk of further injury.”
California’s DMV left the door open to lifting the suspension, but only if Cruise can correct the “deficiencies” that exacerbated the San Francisco incident. In response, the company decided to halt all self-driving operations, saying: “We think it’s the right thing to do during a period when we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to risk, relentlessly focused on safety, and taking steps to rebuild public trust.”
The company is also facing growing scrutiny from federal regulators. Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a safety probe into nearly 600 driverless cars from the company.
If you're looking for a robotaxi ride in Phoenix, Uber just rolled out the option to book a ride with a Waymo self-driving car in the metro area, including the airport.