The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced on Tuesday, October 24, the suspension of permits for the San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle firm, Cruise LLC. The DMV’s decision comes in light of various safety concerns regarding Cruise’s vehicles and operations.
Cruise LLC, a subsidiary of General Motors, has faced an immediate suspension of their autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits. However, the permits for testing with a safety driver remain unaffected.
According to the DMV, several issues prompted the suspensions. These concerns include determining that the company’s vehicles are not safe for public operation based on performance, the company misrepresenting safety-related information, and certain actions or omissions by the manufacturer which posed an unreasonable risk to public safety.
Following the DMV’s announcement, Cruise decided to halt the operations of their autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, expressing their commitment to the ultimate goal of deploying autonomous vehicles to save lives. This suspension comes after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) previously allowed Cruise and its rival Waymo to extend the testing of their robotaxis within the city limits. This decision was not received well by city officials who voiced concerns about the vehicles making wrong turns, stalling, and even hindering the operations of emergency responders.
Adding to Cruise’s challenges, the firm agreed to a request by the DMV to reduce its fleet of robotaxis by half, following two separate crash incidents, one involving an emergency vehicle. Another serious incident that put the company under the spotlight was a hit-and-run crash earlier this month. During this incident, a pedestrian was hit by a human driver and subsequently propelled into the path of a Cruise robotaxi. The vehicle, after detecting the collision, attempted to pull over. In doing so, it dragged the pedestrian before coming to a complete stop.
Cruise acknowledged the aforementioned incident in a recent statement, highlighting their aggressive brake response before the impact. The company has shared all related information, including video evidence, with relevant authorities, such as the DMV, CPUC, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Additionally, Cruise has been cooperative with police in identifying the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run.
However, the DMV has claimed that Cruise did not initially provide all video footage from the October crash. It was later revealed that the Cruise vehicle made a pullover maneuver while the injured individual was beneath the car. The DMV only learned of this detail from another department, and the subsequent video footage was provided to them only upon request on October 13.
Last week, the NHTSA also made an announcement that they are currently investigating Cruise after receiving reports that the company’s autonomous vehicles were not taking proper precautions around pedestrians. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu commended the DMV’s decision and emphasized the significance of the safety concerns raised by the city. Chiu urged the CPUC to develop a more cautious and measured plan for the deployment of autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. Phil Koopman, an autonomous vehicle safety consultant and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, argued that Cruise’s situation highlights the need for regulators to establish more specific safety standards and guidelines for autonomous vehicles.