Cruise Robotaxi Recalled After Harming Pedestrian

Nov. 9, 2023
General Motors is recalling all 950 of its autonomous taxis, Cruise, after it critically injured a pedestrian.

General Motors is recalling all 950 of its autonomous taxis, Cruise, after it critically injured a pedestrian, the Detroit Free Press reports.

A software update is currently being worked on after an incident that took place on October 2, where a pedestrian in San Franciso was struck. The pedestrian was initially struck by another, human-operated vehicle, sending them into the path of a Cruise vehicle. 

Though the Cruise briefly came to a stop, it then veered to the right to get out of traffic, dragging the pedestrian 20 feet forward with it. Pinned under one of the Cruise’s tires, the pedestrian was critically injured.

Cruise units were suspended nationwide following the incident, as well as California’s Department of Motor Vehicles revoked Cruise’s license after state regulators deemed it a threat to public safety.

An investigation was opened by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on October 16 after the organization received four reports of the Cruise not exercising caution around pedestrians, with two reports resulting in injury. The autonomous vehicle was found to invade pedestrian space in roadways, regardless of whether they are on a crosswalk or not.

In documents released by the NHTSA, Cruise has updated software in test vehicles that are being reviewed by human safety drivers. The company has also added a chief safety officer, hired a law firm to assist with the response to the October 2 crash, and enlisted a third-party engineering firm to discover the technical cause of the crash.

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