U.S. opens probe of Cruise robotaxi braking, clogging traffic | 24CA News

U.S. security regulators are investigating experiences that autonomous robotaxis run by General Motors’ Cruise LLC can cease too shortly or unexpectedly cease transferring, probably stranding passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it opened the probe after getting three experiences of Cruise autonomous autos braking so exhausting that they have been hit from behind by different autos. At the time, robotaxis have been staffed by human security drivers.

The company additionally has a number of experiences of Cruise robotaxis with out human security drivers turning into immobilized in San Francisco visitors, presumably stranding passengers and blocking lanes.

The experiences of immobilized autonomous autos got here from discussions with Cruise, media experiences and native authorities, NHTSA mentioned in an investigation doc posted Friday on its web site.

Could result in a recall

There have been two experiences of associated accidents, together with critical accidents to a bicyclist final March, in keeping with the NHTSA crash database.

NHTSA says it would decide how usually the issues occur and any potential questions of safety they trigger. The probe, which covers an estimated 242 Cruise autonomous autos, might carry a recall.

Cruise spokesman Drew Pusateri mentioned the corporate is co-operating within the investigation, and that its autos have pushed almost 700,000 autonomous miles (1.1 million kilometres) in a posh metropolis with no life-threatening accidents or deaths.

“This is against the backdrop of over 40,000 deaths each year on American roads,” he wrote. “There’s always a balance between healthy regulatory scrutiny and the innovation we desperately need to save lives.”

He mentioned police did not problem tickets in any of the crashes, and that in every case, the autonomous car was responding to aggressive or erratic behaviour from different highway customers.

“The AV was working to minimize collision severity and risk of harm, which is exactly what it did,” Pusateri wrote.

Stoppages uncommon, firm says

In the clogged visitors incidents, Pusateri wrote that every time Cruise expertise is not extraordinarily assured in transferring, it is designed to be conservative, turning on hazard lights and coming to a protected cease.

“If needed, Cruise personnel are physically dispatched to retrieve the vehicle as quickly as possible,” Pusateri wrote. Such stoppages are uncommon and haven’t induced any crashes, he wrote.

NHTSA mentioned Cruise reported the three rear-end accidents below a 2021 order requiring automated car firms to inform the company of crashes.

Reports of Cruise robotaxis turning into immobilized in visitors got here from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the company mentioned.

Cruise autos could strand passengers in unsafe areas, akin to journey lanes or intersections, growing the chance to exiting passengers. And they will change into obstacles to different highway customers, inflicting them to make unsafe manoeuvres to keep away from collisions.

“The vehicles may also present a secondary safety risk, by obstructing the paths of emergency response vehicles and thereby delaying their emergency response times,” the company mentioned within the doc.

Critical time for trade

The probe comes at an vital time for Cruise, which in June began charging passengers for autonomous rides with out human security drivers in San Francisco.

It’s additionally a essential time for the autonomous car trade, with Google spinoff Waymo working a robotaxi service within the Phoenix space with plans to increase to San Francisco. Other firms are additionally transferring towards companies with out human security drivers.

San Francisco-based Cruise plans to increase the service to Phoenix and Austin, Texas. The startup owned by GM has been testing autonomous Chevrolet Bolt electrical autos for a number of years.

In September, Cruise revealed that it recalled 80 of its driverless autos for a software program replace after one of many automobiles was concerned in an accident that resulted in minor accidents.

Cruise informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one in every of its autos was making an unprotected left flip at an intersection when it was hit by an oncoming car. The Cruise car needed to be towed away from the scene, in keeping with the regulatory submitting.

GM acquired a majority stake in Cruise when it was a startup in 2016. The firm invested to take 80 per cent stake within the firm final May.