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☆ Cruise Suspends Employee Share Program, Citing Need to Revalue Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors’ self-driving car unit Cruise has paused its U.S. operations after California regulators called its vehicles unsafe. WSJ reporter Ryan Felton explains what this decision means for the future of autonomous vehicles and rivals like Google’s self-driving unit Waymo. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/ReutersGeneral Motors ’ Cruise is suspending an internal program that allows employees to cash out shares in the driverless-car company, citing the need to revalue the business after a pedestrian accident led it to halt robotaxi services last month. Cruise notified employees of the decision Thursday in an email from Chief Executive Kyle Vogt , which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The autonomous-driving startup, majority owned by GM, told employees that the regular quarterly offer to sell shares would be canceled as it re-evaluates the program.

Persons: Ryan Felton, Elijah Nouvelage, Kyle Vogt Organizations: Motors, Reuters General Motors, Wall Street, GM Locations: California

"This orderly pause is a further step to rebuild public trust while we undergo a full safety review," Cruise said in a blog post. In addition, Cruise will hire an outside safety expert to review the company's safety operations and culture, according to the blog post. Cruise previously said it had retained law firm Quinn Emanuel to examine Cruise's response to the accident. The teams under Glidden include communications and finance, according to the blog post. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said last month it was investigating the safety of Cruise vehicles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Cruise, Quinn Emanuel, Craig Glidden, Mary Barra, David Shepardson, Ben Klayman, Chris Reese Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, General Motors, Cruise, Detroit automaker, Glidden, GM, U.S . National, Traffic Safety Administration, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, DETROIT, San Francisco

☆ Cruise's recall means trouble for driverless car companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cruise recalled its entire driverless car fleet after they were banned in California following a fatality. Now other driverless car companies are facing questions over the safety of their vehicles. AdvertisementAdvertisementCruise's robotaxi rollout in San Francisco has turned into a fiasco , with the driverless car firm facing growing questions over just how safe its vehicles really are . A self-driving Waymo car in San Francisco. AdvertisementAdvertisementCruise's recall has sparked renewed scrutiny of the decision to allow the driverless car company and its rival Waymo to operate their robotaxi services in San Francisco 24/7 .

Persons: Cruise, —, Pete Buttigieg, Sen, David Cortese, Gavin Jackson, Jackson, Waymo Organizations: Service, Google, Getty Locations: California, San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Los Angeles

But right now, the unit's operations are shut down as regulators investigate the safety of Cruise's self-driving vehicles. Cruise had $1.7 billion in cash as of Sept. 30, enough to last nine months at the current cash burn rate. As Cruise's troubles intensified, investors on Thursday sent GM shares down more than 3% to $26.65, its lowest closing price since August 2020. In addition to the problems at Cruise, GM last month agreed to a costly new contract with the United Auto Workers, and scaled back plans to expand electric-vehicle production. California regulators suspended Cruise's license to operate, and have accused Cruise officials of misrepresenting information about the incident.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Mary Barra, Cruise, Cruise's, Lawrence Paustian, Barra, Quinn Emanuel, Shinji Aoyama, It's, Kyle Martin, Martin, Jason Petitte, Paul Jacobson, Biden, Ben Klayman, Joseph White, David Shepardson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, Rights DETROIT, General Motors, GM, Honda, Cruise, United Auto Workers, Pzena Investment Management, Reuters, Westwood Group, California Department of Motor Vehicles, U.S . National, Traffic, Administration, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Cruise, Japan, Chicago, Waymo, San Francisco, California, Detroit, Washington

☆ GM's Cruise recalling 950 driverless cars after pedestrian dragged in crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Cruise is recalling 950 driverless cars from the roads across the United States following a crash involving one of its robotaxis and will likely issue more recalls, General Motors' (GM.N) self-driving unit said. The recall is the latest setback for GM's Cruise unit that faces growing questions about its technology that GM says it key to its growth plans. Cruise said last month it would halt operations nationwide after California regulators suspended the robotaxi operator's license, saying the Cruise self-driving vehicles were a risk to the public. Cruise is facing two federal investigations over the safety of its cars, including two incidents where the robot cars appeared not to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Persons: Elijah Nouvelage, Mary Barra, Cruise, Quinn Emanuel, David Shepardson, Washington Abinaya, Chandni Shah, Anil D'Silva Organizations: GM Bolt, REUTERS, Rights, General Motors, National, Traffic Safety Administration, GM's, GM, Origin, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, United States, San Francisco, California, crosswalks, Phoenix , Arizona, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Texas, Miami, Washington, Bengaluru

☆ GM's Cruise is recalling 950 robotaxis after pedestrian collision
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cruise, the autonomous vehicle venture owned by General Motors , has issued a recall effecting 950 of its robotaxis following a pedestrian collision in San Francisco last month. The Oct. 2 collision triggered a federal probe. According to the Cruise filing with the NHTSA on Nov. 7, following the collision, Cruise found defects within its automated driving system software, specifically pertaining to its "Collision Detection Subsystem." This issue could occur after a collision with a pedestrian positioned low on the ground in the path of the AV." After Cruise lost its permits in California and faced a public backlash over safety concerns, the company also temporarily suspended production of its Cruise Origin driverless vans.

Persons: Cruise, Louise Zhang, Elon Musk, Quinn Emanuel Organizations: General Motors, National, Traffic, Administration, Google, Tesla, Cruise, GM Locations: San Francisco, California, Detroit

☆ GM's Cruise to recall 950 driverless cars after accident involving pedestrian
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - Cruise is recalling 950 driverless cars from the roads across the United States and may withdraw more following an accident involving one of its robotaxis, General Motors' (GM.N) self-driving unit and the U.S. auto regulator said on Wednesday. All affected driverless vehicles will also be repaired before returning to service, it said. "Today we have issued a voluntary recall of part of our AV software based on a new analysis of our AV's post-collision response on October 2nd," Cruise said. Late last month, Cruise said it would suspend all operations nationwide after the California Department of Motor Vehicles ordered the robotaxi operator to remove its driverless cars from state roads.

Persons: Elijah Nouvelage, Cruise, Abinaya Vijayaraghavan, Chandni Shah, Anil D'Silva Organizations: GM Bolt, REUTERS, General Motors, U.S, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, Reuters, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, United States, San Francisco, crosswalks ., Phoenix , Arizona, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Texas, Miami , Florida, Bengaluru

☆ Cruise confirms robotaxis rely on human assistance every four to five miles
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This Cruise in San Francisco seemingly could not figure out how to pull aside on a narrow street to let a buss pass. First, Vogt confirmed that the General Motors -owned company does have a remote assistance team, in response to a discussion under the header, "GM's Cruise alleged to rely on human operators to achieve 'autonomous' driving." The CEO wrote, "Cruise AVs are being remotely assisted (RA) 2-4% of the time on average, in complex urban environments. CNBC confirmed with Cruise spokesperson Tiffany Testo that the comments were accurate and came from the company's CEO. Cruise recently took the drastic move of grounding all of its driverless operations following a collision that injured a pedestrian in San Francisco on October 2.

Persons: buss, Kyle Vogt, aren't, Vogt, GM's Cruise, Tiffany Testo, Cruise Organizations: Cruise, Hacker, General Motors, CNBC, DMV, NBC, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Google Locations: San Francisco, California

In this article UBERGOOGLGM Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTSelf-driving cars have flooded San Francisco streets, and many of them have no safety drivers behind the wheel. The cars have driven into firefighting scenes, caused construction delays, impeded ambulances and even meandered into active crime scenes. "There have been 75 plus incidents," said San Francisco fire chief Jeanine Nicholson. San Francisco city attorney David Chiu said, "there are still some glitches that need to be worked out." "The idea that thousands of vehicles could be hitting our streets in short order is what gives us concern."

Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, Jeanine Nicholson, David Chiu, Chiu Organizations: General Motors Locations: San Francisco, Francisco, Russian

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhat it's really like to ride in Cruise and Waymo robotaxis on San Francisco streetsSelf-driving cars without safety drivers behind the wheel have flooded San Francisco streets. In August, General Motors-owned Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo were granted permission to expand operations, allowing people to hail a driverless car like they do for an Uber. But the launch has been plagued by problems. CNBC's Deirdre Bosa tested out both company's robotaxis and spoke with city officials and Cruise CEO, Kyle Vogt, to see how the launch is going for the city and what's next.

Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, CNBC's Deirdre Bosa, robotaxis, Kyle Vogt Organizations: General Motors, Cruise Locations: Cruise, San Francisco, what's

We are actually going to be looking at this in the very early days of generative AI. casey newtonYeah, this feels like one of the big questions in AI right now. rebecca tushnetSo I see why you say that’s strange, but in fact, it’s exactly how you would make a general-purpose tool. But now, finally, along come these new technologies to take them down a peg, and they’re actually going to have to work for a living. So maybe they’re slapping, like, AI sort of things around the stories that they’re aggregating.

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☆ US probes GM's Cruise robocars over pedestrian close calls
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NHTSA previously made public another Oct. 20 letter in which it raised concerns over several hard-braking incidents by Cruise vehicles that resulted in collisions. Safety officials cited two videos where Cruise vehicles came close to pedestrians in crosswalks and appeared to nearly strike them. Cruise had been operating an Uber-like service with unmanned vehicles, primarily in San Francisco, but the company halted that service this week. As of Friday, Waymo vehicles continued driverless passenger operations in San Francisco, its main hub. Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San Francisco Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Cruise, Greg Bensinger, David Shepardson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, General Motors, National, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Teamsters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, crosswalks, Arizona, Texas, Washington

Customers ordering an Uber in Phoenix, Arizona, now have the option to take their ride in a fully autonomous vehicle, the company announced in a blog post Thursday. The autonomous Uber rides will be serviced by Waymo vehicles, and rides will be the same price as the traditional car rides Uber offers, an Uber spokesperson told CNBC. Customers who request a ride in an UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Comfort Electric or Uber Green within Waymo's operating territory could be paired with one of its autonomous cars. People who are eager to try the autonomous rides can also increase the chances of being matched with one if they update their preferences in the app. Uber declined to share how many Waymo cars are being serviced in Pheonix or when it plans to roll out the feature in other cities.

Persons: Uber Organizations: Google, CNBC, Uber Comfort, Uber Locations: Phoenix , Arizona, Pheonix

☆ Arizona says closely monitoring use of self-driving vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 25 (Reuters) - Arizona is closely monitoring the testing and use of self-driving vehicles in the state, its transportation department said on Wednesday, a day after California barred General Motors' (GM.N) Cruise from operating its driverless cars. The Arizona Department of Transportation said it was aware of the announcement from California and was closely monitoring the situation. "Public safety is our highest priority, and we are in regular communication with and closely monitoring Cruise and other companies testing and operating self-driving vehicles in Arizona," it said in a statement. Companies such as Cruise, Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Waymo and Uber are testing their self-driving car technology in these states and cities.

Persons: Elijah Nouvelage, Hugo Soto, Martínez, Cruise, Waymo, Akash Sriram, Juby Babu, Hyunjoo Jin, Lisa Baertlein, Shailesh Kuber, Anil D'Silva Organizations: GM Bolt, REUTERS, General Motors, The Arizona Department of Transportation, California's Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Motor Vehicles, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Arizona, California, Los Angeles, Texas , Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, Dallas, Nashville, Bengaluru, Hyunjoo, San Francisco

☆ Alphabet to report third-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alphabet is set to report third-quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday. During the third quarter, Google made focused layoffs in various business organizations within the company. In the latest quarter, Google reshuffled its smart assistant that included layoffs as part of an effort to "supercharge" products with AI. Earlier this month, product managers and designers for Google's ChatGPT competitor Bard were reportedly skeptical about the tool's helpfulness. Along with the changes in its business, Google has seen a dramatic shake-up in its upper ranks.

Persons: StreetAccount, it's, Sergey Brin, Google's, hyping, Bard, Ruth Porat, CNBC she'll, Eddy, Apple's, iPhones Organizations: LSEG, Google, TikTok, CNBC, Department of Justice Locations: Zurich, Switzerland

☆ California officials revoke Cruise's permits to test driverless vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked Cruise’s permits to test and operate fully driverless vehicles on California roads, the agency said in a statement Tuesday. About three weeks ago, a Cruise vehicle hit a pedestrian in downtown San Francisco who had first been hit by another vehicle then and was propelled by this collision into the path of the Cruise driverless car. This was the incident that ultimately precipitated the DMV to revoke the permits, according to an emailed statement from Cruise. Regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the safety of Cruise autonomous vehicles around pedestrians. This summer, Cruise and Waymo, the driverless car arm of Google-parent Alphabet received permission from San Francisco regulators to begin regular paid driverless taxi services in that city.

Persons: CNN — Cruise, Cruise, ” Cruise Organizations: CNN, Motors, The California Department of Motor Vehicles, Department, California DMV, San Francisco Fire Department, Cruise, Regulators, Traffic Safety Administration, DMV, Google Locations: California, San Francisco, Cruise, Phoenix , Arizona, Austin , Texas

☆ California DMV suspends Cruise's self-driving car permits, effective immediately
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits," the California DMV said in a statement. The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise's deployment and testing permits for its autonomous vehicles, effective immediately. A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco. "We learned today at 10:30 am PT of the California DMV's suspension of our driverless permits," Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow told CNBC in a statement. The probe, spearheaded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was prompted by multiple reports involving pedestrian injuries and Cruise vehicles in recent months, and it concerns an estimated 594 self-driving Cruise vehicles, according to the filing.

Persons: Hannah Lindow, Cruise, Philip Koopman, that's, Koopman, Kyle Vogt, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: DMV, California DMV, Cruise, General Motors, The California Department of Motor Vehicles, General Motors Corp, CNBC, National, Traffic Safety Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, California's Public Utilities Commission, Google, LinkedIn Locations: California, San Francisco, U.S

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace. Political Cartoons View All 1215 ImagesIn a statement, Cruise confirmed it has ceased its robotaxi operations in San Francisco. Waymo, which began as as secret project within Google more than a decade ago, has been running another robotaxi service in Phoenix for the past three years. Cruise also is testing a robotaxi service in Los Angeles, where protests against it already have been percolating, as well as Phoenix and Austin, Texas. The DMV initially asked Cruise to cut its driverless fleet in San Francisco in half, a request accepted by the company.

Persons: San Francisco —, Cruise's robotaxis, robotaxi, Cruise, Panini, ”, Waymo, haven't, Mary Barra, ” Barra Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, General Motors, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Public Utilities Commission, Google, GM, Cruise, Detroit, DMV Locations: — California, San Francisco, U.S, Waymo, Phoenix, California, Los Angeles, Austin , Texas

☆ California suspends GM Cruise self-driving vehicles as 'not safe' for public
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cruise's AVs posed an "an unreasonable risk to public safety," and "are not safe for the public's operation" California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said in a statement. The suspension, which came after a series of accidents involving Cruise vehicles, is a major setback to GM's self-driving technology unit and to the nascent autonomous vehicle (AV) industry. That month, a Cruise robotaxi was involved in a crash with an emergency vehicle in San Francisco. Barra said the Cruise robotaxis have better safety records than human drivers. This month, U.S. auto safety regulators opened a probe into whether Cruise was taking sufficient precautions with its autonomous robotaxis to safeguard pedestrians.

Persons: Cruise, Elijah Nouvelage, Cruise's AVs, Mary Barra, robotaxi, Barra, Hyunjoo Jin, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Motors, California's Department of Motor Vehicles, Cruise, GM, DMV, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Traffic Safety Administration, UAW, Detroit Three, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, San Francisco, New York, Texas

☆ California revokes Cruise's robo-taxi permit, calling them 'an unreasonable risk to public safety'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

California has revoked the license of Cruise, an autonomous robo-taxi service owned by General Motors. California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace. In a statement, Cruise confirmed it has ceased its robotaxi operations in San Francisco. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile Cruise has been sidelined in San Francisco, another robotaxi operated by Waymo is continuing to give rides throughout the city. Waymo, which began as as secret project within Google more than a decade ago, has been running another robotaxi service in Phoenix for the past three years.

Persons: —, San Francisco —, Cruise's robotaxis, robotaxi, Cruise, Panini, Waymo Organizations: General Motors, Service, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Public Utilities Commission, Google Locations: California, San Francisco, U.S, Waymo, Phoenix

☆ Tesla stock ends the week down 15%, the worst performance of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, and owner of X. formerly known as Twitter. Tesla shares dropped more than 15% over the last few days to close the week at $211.99 after CEO Elon Musk waxed pessimistic about macroeconomic issues on a third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. It marks the worst week for Tesla stock of the year, although shares of the electric automaker are still up 96% year-to-date. For the period ending Sept. 30, 2023, Tesla reported $23.35 billion in revenue and $1.85 billion in profits, a decline versus the prior quarter. His forecast still implies more than a 56% upside in a note out after the Q3 Tesla call.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, Didi, it's, Vaibhav Taneja, We've, Wells, Colin Langan, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, Jonas, Toni Sacconaghi, Bernstein Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, CNBC Pro Locations: U.S, China

☆ Honda, GM, Cruise plan to begin Japan driverless ride service in early 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Honda Motor (7267.T) said on Thursday that it aims to set up a joint venture with General Motors (GM.N) and Cruise to begin a driverless ride service in Japan in early 2026. The three companies aim to establish the joint venture in first half of 2024 pending regulatory approval, the Japanese company said in a statement without providing financial details. Vogt said it was hard to say whether offering a driverless ride service in Tokyo posed a unique or distinct challenge for the company. The Japan service is planned to launch in central Tokyo, using dozens of Origins before expanding to a fleet of 500 vehicles, Honda said in its statement. The companies plan to later broaden the service to areas beyond central Tokyo, Honda said.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Cruise, Waymo, Honda, Kyle Vogt, Vogt, Toshihiro Mibe, Daniel Leussink, Mariko Katsumura, Rocky Swift, David Dolan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: General Motors, REUTERS, Rights, Honda, Cruise, GM, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, Japan, San Francisco, United States, Tokyo, Austin

[1/2] A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company’s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. NHTSA's preliminary evaluation covers about 594 vehicles and is the first step before the agency seek to force a recall. In December, NHTSA opened a separate safety probe into the autonomous driving system in Cruise vehicles after reports of two injuries in rear-end crashes. NHTSA said Cruise vehicles "may engage in inappropriately hard braking or become immobilized." The DMV in August said it was investigating "recent concerning incidents" involving Cruise vehicles in San Francisco and asked the company to take half its robotaxis off the roads, a request Cruise complied with.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Mary Barra, Cruise, robotaxi, David Shepardsin, Nick Carey, Abinaya, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Jan Harvey, Nick Zieminski Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, Rights, General Motors, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, GM, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Public Utilities Commission, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Cruise, Washington, London, Bengaluru

☆ Feds probing safety of GM’s robotaxis around pedestrians
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —The US auto safety regulator has opened a probe into whether General Motors’ self-driving unit Cruise has taken sufficient precautions with its autonomous vehicles to safeguard pedestrians, it said on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said its Office of Defects Investigation has received two reports from Cruise of incidents in which pedestrians were injured, and has identified two further incidents via videos posted to public websites. NHTSA said the reports include Cruise autonomous vehicles “encroaching on pedestrians present in or entering roadways, including pedestrian crosswalks, in the proximity of the intended path of the vehicles”. In August the California Department of Motor Vehicles said it was investigating incidents involving Cruise in San Francisco, after a Cruise robotaxi was involved in a crash with an emergency vehicle. The California Public Utilities Commission voted in August to allow robotaxis from Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo to operate around the clock, despite strong opposition from residents and city agencies.

Persons: Cruise, “, robotaxi Organizations: Reuters, General Motors, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: San Francisco, California, Cruise

☆ Federal regulators open probe into Cruise after pedestrian injury reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into whether Cruise autonomous cars exercised "appropriate caution" in and around pedestrians, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wrote in a filing. The NHTSA probe was prompted by two reports involving pedestrian injuries and Cruise vehicles in recent months. One incident on Oct. 2 involved a situation where a pedestrian was thrown by another vehicle into the path of a driverless Cruise vehicle. Proponents have argued that driverless vehicles are safer than human-driven ones. Other companies, including some based in China, are also testing driverless vehicles on San Francisco streets.

Persons: Cruise, Hannah Lindow Organizations: NBC, Area Investigative Unit, Traffic, Administration, NHTSA, General Motors, San, CNBC Locations: San Francisco, Francisco, China

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