California bans Cruise drone testing after crashes and allegations of data hiding

California authorities have ordered Cruise to remove its unmanned vehicles from the state's roads, calling them dangerous and accusing them of hiding information about accidents.

Here's What We Know

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has suspended Cruise's permit to test driverless robotaxis. The department said in a statement that Cruise vehicles pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.

The DMV accused Cruise of misrepresenting the safety record of drone technology. The occasion was a series of accidents involving such vehicles. The suspension of testing was a serious blow to the robotaxi business of Cruise, owned by GM.

In particular, the DMV points to an incident on 2 October when a Cruise vehicle failed to avoid hitting a pedestrian it had previously hit. As it turns out, the company did not provide a full recording of the incident.

Cruise says it is suspending testing in San Francisco and is analysing the incident to identify improvements. The company can appeal the DMV's decision within 5 days.

Go Deeper:

• Waymo and Cruise have been approved for 24-hour paid robotaxi rides in San Francisco
• Opponents of robotaxis in San Francisco have declared war on unmanned cars
• Cruise robot cars paralysed traffic in San Francisco immediately after state authorities allowed the company to expand drone operations in the city
• San Francisco is seeking a review of permits for Cruise and Waymo's robotaxi network expansion
• In San Francisco, a car hit a pedestrian and threw him under the wheels of a Cruise robot car

Source: Reuters