Topline
Cruise—General Motors’ self-driving brand—is recalling 950 vehicles from its robotaxi fleet, according to a regulatory filing, amid scrutiny of the driverless cars after Forbes reported a pedestrian was inadvertently dragged by one of the company’s vehicles following a crash in San Francisco.
Auto regulators said the self-driving vehicles—manufactured by General Motors—were affected by a … [+]
Key Facts
Cruise will recall the vehicles and issue a software update to the “Collision Detection Subsystem,” the software that allows the robotaxis to detect crashes and pull over after a collision, after the National Highway Safety Administration said the software’s responses may increase safety risks.
After a collision, the software may cause Cruise’s vehicles to attempt to pull over out of traffic instead of remaining stationary, according to the filing, which is “not the desired post-collision response.”
The issue “played a role” in one Cruise vehicle responding to a collision on October 2, according to the filing, in which a human-driven car knocked a woman into the path of a Cruise autonomous vehicle, which then dragged the woman for about 20 feet, causing major injuries, San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin told Forbes.
Cruise’s automatic driving system “inaccurately characterized” the collision as a “lateral collision” and commanded the vehicle to pull over out of traffic rather than remaining stationary, the filing said, causing the woman to be pulled forward with the car.
An internal review of CDS determined a collision with a risk of serious injury may occur every 10 million to 100 million miles, Cruise said.
Cruise did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Key Background
The NHTSA launched an investigation into Cruise last month, after the company shared two incident reports of pedestrians being injured by its robotaxis, including the October 2 incident. The agency also found two other incidents related to Cruise vehicles through online videos. The California Department of Motor Vehicles opened an investigation in August after a Cruise vehicle crashed with an emergency vehicle in San Francisco. The state’s DMV later pulled Cruise’s permits to operate its robotaxis in California, after the agency said Cruise’s vehicles are “not safe for the public’s operations” and that they pose “an unreasonable risk to the public.” The company agreed to cut its fleet in half during the DMV investigation and later paused all operations nationwide. Cruise chief executive Kyle Vogt announced earlier this month that the company would pause production of its driverless vans.
Tangent
The NHTSA previously opened an investigation into Cruise last year, after the agency said it received two reports of injuries caused by the automated driving system engaging in “inappropriately hard braking.” The preliminary probe covered 242 Cruise vehicles.
Further Reading
Cruise Robotaxi Dragged Woman 20 Feet In Recent Accident, Local Politician Says (Forbes)
California DMV Halts Cruise’s Self-Driving Robotaxis Statewide (Forbes)
Under Fire Over Robotaxi Safety, GM Halts Production Of Cruise Driverless Van (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/08/cruise-recalls-robotaxi-fleet-after-report-of-pedestrian-dragged-by-vehicle/