California suspends test of self-driving cruise taxi after accident

Autonomous car maker Cruise must immediately cease operating self-driving taxis in California, state motor vehicle authorities said on Tuesday.

“The California DMV informed Cruise today that the agency is suspending Cruise’s permits for autonomous vehicle use and driverless testing, effective immediately,” the state Department of Motor Vehicles said. said in a statement.

“The DMV has notified Cruise of the steps necessary to apply for the reinstatement of its suspended permits. The DMV will not approve the reinstatement until the company has met the requirements to the agency’s satisfaction.”

The regulator said it had the right to withdraw permits if there was an “unreasonable threat to public safety.”

The suspension, which only applies to Cruise rides where there is no human safety driver on board the vehicle, follows an incident earlier this month in which a woman in San Francisco was struck by a human driver in a hit-and-run accident and thrown directly into the path of a Cruise robot taxi.

“Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles to save lives,” Cruise said in a statement to ABC7. “In the incident being investigated by the DMV, a human hit-and-run driver tragically struck the pedestrian and ejected him into the path of the AV. The AV aggressively braked prior to impact and attempted to stop, sensing a collision to avoid further safety issues. When the AV attempted to stop, it continued to drive before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward.”

“Our thoughts remain with the victim and we hope for a speedy and full recovery,” the company added.

The suspension is a major blow for Cruise, which is owned by General Motors.

Along with Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, Cruise sees California, and San Francisco in particular, as an important testing ground for self-driving taxi technology.

Both companies received permission from state regulators in August to offer 24-hour paid taxi services in San Francisco without safety drivers, despite heated debates in the city about whether operating the autonomous vehicles was safe enough.

The introduction of robot taxis in San Francisco was overshadowed by problems.

Driverless cars, especially cruise taxis, have been blamed for causing traffic congestion and hindering first responders.

According to data Cruise provided to the state in August, Cruise AVs experienced temporary malfunctions or shutdowns and required recovery 177 times between January and mid-July 2023; 26 of those incidents occurred with a passenger in the vehicle, while Waymo recorded 58 such events during a similar period.

Meanwhile, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), between April 2022 and April 2023, Cruise and Waymo vehicles were involved in over 300 cases of erratic driving, including unexpected stops and collisions, while the San Francisco Fire Department says AVs disrupted their work 55 times in 2023.

Last year, Cruise lost contact with its entire fleet for 20 minutes, according to internal documents released WIREDand an anonymous employee warned California regulators this year that the company “regularly” loses contact with its vehicles.

Since their introduction in San Francisco, robotaxis have killed a dog, caused a mile-long traffic jam during rush hour, blocked a lane as officers responded to a shooting, and driven over fire hoses.

Jeffrey Tumlin, San Francisco’s transportation director, called the introduction of robot taxis a “race to the bottom” and argued that Cruise and Waymo are not yet final solutions for public transportation, but have merely “met the requirements for a learner’s license.”

Others argue that the introduction of self-driving cars in San Francisco and elsewhere will further displace workers who have been pushed out of the taxi industry by companies like Uber and Lyft.