Cruise has managed to close one investigation into the safety of its robotaxis, but it is still being investigated by US authorities since one of its vehicles dragged and pinned down a pedestrian last year.
GM-owned Cruise has agreed to recall nearly 1,200 of its robotaxis to resolve an investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The regulator launched a probe into Cruise towards the end of 2022 after the company’s vehicles were involved in multiple rear-end crashes, Reuters reports. As a result of the recall of these robotaxis, the investigation has been closed.
A company spokesperson said it did not agree with the regulator’s view that a recall was needed, but it made the recall to resolve the investigation and to build “trust and increasing transparency with respect to autonomous vehicle technology”.
The investigation related to potential issues with brakes and immobilisation in Cruise’s self-driving vehicles. The investigation into hard braking determined that Cruise vehicles were involved in 10 crashes, with four of them resulting in injury of vulnerable road users, Reuters reports. This figure came from an analysis of 7,632 incidents commanded by Cruise’s automated driving system.
Cruise told Reuters that the vehicles had received prior software updates that “significantly reduced the risk of unexpected braking events”.
A long road back to trust
The closing of this investigation comes amid a difficult period for Cruise, as self-driving car providers face scrutiny in the US for being involved in various accidents. Cruise was involved in one of the most high-profile incidents when one of its robotaxis dragged and pinned down a hit-and-run victim in San Francisco.
The company’s expansion plans ground to a halt as a result of this incident and Cruise had its driverless taxi permit suspended in the US state of California. The company also cut a significant amount of staff and said it would focus on enhancing its safety standards before scaling up its operations.
The company is also being investigated by various US organisations including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over that incident.
Other players in the sector have have recent success however, as Alphabet-owned Waymo has expanded its robotaxi services to multiple cities in the US this year.
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