California Bans GM's Cruise Robotaxis After Near-Fatal Pedestrian Accident

Update, October 27: Cruise has suspended all operations across the U.S., saying on X (formally known as Twitter) "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. "

While you're probably used to hearing autonomous driving horror stories related to Tesla and its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) driver assistance features and their penchant of hitting emergency vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians, there's a new source of discomfort for the robot-skeptical. The GM-backed robotaxi service, Cruise, recently graduated from merely causing traffic jams with their software's ponderous decision making (and being easily defeated by traffic cones placed on their hoods) to darker horizons.

The California DMV alleges Cruise has been deceptive and withheld evidence of major safety issues with its autonomous test vehicles. This wrongdoing was the straw that finally broke the Golden State's regulatory body and force it to suspend the license for Cruise to operate with fully autonomous driving Chevrolet Bolt taxis.

The evidence is rather shocking, but it's allegation that Cruise withheld video of issues that is particularly damning. According to the California DMV (viaVice), Cruise did not hand over video evidence related to an ongoing investigation into the safety of the fully autonomous Chevrolet Cruise taxis and have declared in a statement that "the manufacturer's vehicles are not safe for the public's operation." Back in August, California regulators had approved the expansion of Cruise's service and allowed it to operate 24 hours a day.

What Did Cruise Do Wrong?

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According to the story onVice, the video in question covers a recent incident that made national news, in which a Cruise robotaxi came to a hard stop before driving over a pedestrian who had already been hit by another human-driven car. The Cruise vehicle then attempted to pull over and crawl along the roadside for 20 feet—with the victim still pinned underneath it.

The DMV alleges that Cruise only showed the first hard stop when requested for footage of the incident and only learned of the additional footage showing the rest of the incident from an unnamed government agency. Only when confronted did Cruise finally reveal the rest of the video evidence. Cruise denies not showing the fully video to the DMV in a statement toVice'sMotherboardfrom spokesperson, Hannah Lindow, saying "I can confirm that Cruise showed the full video to the DMW on October 3rd, and played it multiple times." TechCrunchwas also told the same thing by Cruise.

The license suspension is effective immediately and Cruise has suspended operations in San Fransisco, but it appears that the suspension could be lifted by meeting "a number of steps." What those steps would take has not been revealed by the DMV, which also states that Cruise may continue to operate under testing conditions but must do so with a safety driver behind the wheel.

The Fallout Has Been Immediate

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Not long after news broke of Cruise's autonomous license suspension, Los Angeles City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez released a statement via email that he would introduce a motion on October 25 to urge California state officials to "address public safety concerns around autonomous vehicles and reign in the expansion of robotaxis" in the city. According to the release by Soto-Martinez, the issue isn't just with Cruise and stated that robotaxi services in Los Angeles "has already been met with outrage from public safety officials and local residents." It then states that Waymo has "well documented" incidents and that the NHTSA reported that it "had the most automated driving system crashes" of any autonomous vehicle company in 2021.

This motion will come not long after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 316 a bill on autonomous semi-trucks that would have stymied their development. No doubt, news of Cruise's actions and its license suspension will potentially help fuel a new California assembly bill that will expand beyond those autonomous trucks and into robotaxis.

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Teamsters Local 586 also released a statement that, while indicating happiness with Cruise's license being suspended, adds that it's not enough action by the California government. "The DMV's decision to suspend Cruise's operating license is a step in the right direction, but it's too little, too late. The Teamsters will not be appeased by baby steps or half-measures," said Teamsters Western Region International Vice President, Peter Finn. "We are also disappointed to see that the DMV is providing Cruise with a pathway to apply for license re-instatement. The agency itself has alleged that Cruise misrepresented information related to the safety of its vehicles. This company doesn't deserve a second chance."