The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) stopped the operations of Cruise's self-driving cars in San Francisco on Tuesday, October 24, because of safety concerns. The suspension is effective immediately.
The agency said in a press release: "Public safety remains the California DMV's top priority." It also pointed out that the decision is within the agency's power to suspend or revoke permits where there is an "unreasonable risk" to public safety.
Cruise released a long statement explaining how the company found out about the DMV's suspension 30 minutes before it was officially announced. Cruise confirmed it would be pausing operations via its post on X (formerly Twitter).
(6/6) Our teams are currently doing an analysis to identify potential enhancements to the AV’s response to this kind of extremely rare event.
— cruise (@Cruise) October 24, 2023
Danger to the General Population
In a report by KTVU Fox 2, the DMV expressed the position that Cruise's vehicles are unsafe for public use and that the company lied to people about the security of its technology. The company is now being investigated by federal officials for potential shortcomings in pedestrian safety.
However, Cruise strongly denied the claim that its vehicles were unsafe. "Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in an effort to save lives," it stated.
Cruise has been under fire after events in which its driverless vehicles impeded rescue cars, halted abruptly in the middle of metropolitan streets, or disregarded traffic lights and signs. Concerned about the safety of pedestrians, other cars, and first responders, municipal authorities in San Francisco have lobbied to restrict Cruise's vehicles.
Aaron Peskin, head of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said, "They do not report what we see every day - running of red lights, near misses with pedestrians. All of those bugs have to be ironed out. These things [cars] are still not ready for prime time."
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Hit-And-Run Incident Involving Cruise Car
While the DMV did not highlight any particular dangers to public safety, Cruise identified one case that it claims is under review by state officials.
Earlier this month, a lady got hit and was abandoned near the intersection of 5th and Market Streets in San Francisco. The business had previously reported that the lady had been crossing the street when she was hit twice: first by a car operated by a human and then again by a Cruise vehicle.
Cruise reaffirmed in its statement that the vehicle braked aggressively before impact and tried to pull over as it spotted a collision. It said that the car had pulled the lady slightly forward while attempting to stop. First responders arrived to find the victim stuck beneath the autonomous vehicle.
There were no witnesses, and no one was in the driverless car, according to investigators.
Cruise said that the team promptly informed the DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the incident and that they had also shared the whole video with them.
