US probe to look into risks of GM’s driverless cars
Cruise LLC, the robotaxi company owned by General Motors Co., is facing a federal investigation over the possible risks to pedestrians from its driverless vehicles.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation following incidents of automobiles “encroaching on pedestrians present in or entering roadways,” according to documents. The probe covers 594 Cruise vehicles.
The agency said it has received two reports involving pedestrian injuries sustained from Cruise vehicles under a June 2021 order demanding carmakers and tech firms report the incidents. NHTSA also identified two additional relevant incidents using videos that were posted to social media websites.
No fatalities have been reported in connection with the vehicles included in the investigation.
Cruise has been in regular communication with NHTSA and plans to continue cooperating with the agency, company spokeswoman Hannah Lindow said via email following the launch of the investigation.
One of the incidents involved a hit-and-run accident Oct. 2 in San Francisco in which a human driving a non-Cruise vehicle struck a pedestrian, throwing the person in front of a Cruise robotaxi. The self-driving car stopped but still made contact with the person, NHTSA’s report said. The other vehicle fled the scene.
Another incident in
San Francisco occurred in August when a Cruise vehicle was stopped at an intersection and started moving when the light turned green. A pedestrian then stepped into the crosswalk. Cruise’s AV tried to stop but struck the pedestrian at 1.4 mph.
The person went to the hospital complaining of knee pain.
Cruise operates robotaxis
in San Francisco and has been expanding to other cities, including Austin, Texas, and Phoenix.