Cruise suspends robotaxi operations in the US after losing its licence in California
Associated Press
GM-owned Cruise has put a pause on all drone car operations in the US. This followed a decision by California authorities to suspend Cruise's licence to test robotaxis in the state due to safety concerns.
Here's What We Know
Cruise said it needed time to examine its processes and tools and regain public trust. The occasion was a series of incidents involving the company's drones in California.
(2/3) In that spirit, we have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust.
- cruise (@Cruise) October 27, 2023
In early October, Cruise's robot taxi stopped on the leg of a woman who had been hit by another vehicle and pinned her to the ground until rescuers arrived. A few weeks later, the California Department of Transportation suspended the company's licence due to safety concerns.
The decision affected other states where Cruise has deployed fleets of robotaxis, including Texas, Arizona and Florida. For now, the company will only use autonomous vehicles with drivers on board.
Cruise has not disclosed details on how it will conduct safety checks and restore public confidence in its autonomous driving technology after the licence suspension.
Go Deeper:
- Waymo and Cruise have been approved for 24-hour paid robotaxi rides in San Francisco
- In San Francisco, a car hit a pedestrian and threw him under the wheels of the Cruise robot car
- California bans Cruise drone testing after crashes and allegations of data hiding
Source: @Cruise
