California’s DMV is suspending Cruise’s permit to test self-driving cars in the state over concerns the vehicles pose a risk to public safety.
The suspension occurs three weeks after a Cruise self-driving vehicle accidentally rolled over a pedestrian in San Francisco after she was flung into the vehicle’s path during a hit-and-run. California’s DMV didn’t mention the accident in the suspension, but the department did cite the “performance” of the self-driving vehicles, which the DMV has determined “are not safe for the public’s operation.”
California’s DMV also alleges that Cruise has “misrepresented” information about the safety of its autonomous vehicles. That said, the suspension can be lifted.
“The DMV has provided Cruise with the steps needed to apply to reinstate its suspended permits, which the DMV will not approve until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction,” the department added.
In response, the GM-owned Cruise said it’ll pause the operation of all driverless vehicles in San Francisco, noting that the DMV is still reviewing the accident involving a company car rolling over a pedestrian.
On Oct. 2, the pedestrian was walking across moving traffic in downtown San Francisco during a green light around 9:30 p.m. A human-driven vehicle then struck the pedestrian, sending her body into the path of the self-driving Cruise vehicle, which was traveling in the next lane.
“The AV (autonomous vehicle) braked aggressively before impact and because it detected a collision, it attempted to pull over to avoid further safety issues,” Cruise said in a tweet today. But ultimately, the vehicle ran over the woman. “When the AV tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward,” Cruise added.
Despite California DMV’s claims of misrepresentation, Cruise says it's been “proactively” sharing information about the incident with authorities, including the full video. "Our teams are currently doing an analysis to identify potential enhancements to the AV’s response to this kind of extremely rare event,” the company added.
The license suspension could hinder Cruise’s efforts to bring self-driving cars to the market. But the company is operating other tests outside of California, including in Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, rival Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, continues to test its own self-driving cars in San Francisco.
