SAN FRANCISCO — Cruise has stopped operating its self-driving cars across the country, the autonomous vehicle maker announced Thursday evening.
The move comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise LLC’s use of self-driving cars in San Francisco.
The DMV said the vehicles were deemed “unsafe for public use” and that the manufacturer “misrepresented” information about their safety.
In an announcement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the company said it wanted to rebuild public trust.
“This includes taking a close look inside and at the way we work at Cruise, even if that means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult,” the company statement said.
“With this in mind, we have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take the time to review our processes, systems and tools and reflect on how we can work better to earn the public’s trust .”
The company claimed the action was not related to any new incidents on the road and that monitored AV operations would continue.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Cruise is a subsidiary of General Motors and also operates in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Texas cities of Austin and Houston.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles’ suspension on Tuesday also did not affect Cruise’s permission to test the vehicles with a safety driver in them. Cruise said the state’s action stemmed from an investigation into an Oct. 2 collision involving one of its autonomous vehicles in the area of Market and Fifth streets in San Francisco.
A hit-and-run driver struck a woman crossing the street at a red light, throwing her into the path of the cruise vehicle. The company said the vehicle detected a collision and came to a stop, but then attempted to stop to avoid further road safety issues, pulling the woman forward about 20 feet.
Cruise said they shared information about the collision, including the full video, with state and federal regulators, including the DMV, and that the company is “currently conducting an analysis to identify possible improvements to the AV’s response to this type of extremely rare event.” to determine”.
(1/3) The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to restore public trust. This also includes taking a closer look inside and at the way we work at Cruise, even if that means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult.
– Cruise (@Cruise) October 27, 2023
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