Cruise, the autonomous vehicle service provider under General Motors, decided to suspend its driverless operations but the supervised AV operations will continue.
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Cruise Robotaxis Linked in Several Incidents
General Motors announced that the company lost around $1.9 billion with Cruise through September. Following the revelation, the California Department of Motor Vehicles handed down the suspension of Cruise's operations. In addition, its testing permits were also canceled.
Last August, Cruise received its approval to provide robotaxi service in San Francisco. However, its services proved to be more problematic as a series of accidents involving the autonomous vehicle have been reported over the past months.
For instance, two robotaxis blocked an ambulance and caused a delay in an emergency response. While Cruise refused to acknowledge full blame for the accident, the problem did not stop there. Early this month, a woman was launched into the path of the driverless car and got stuck while the robotaxi attempted to maneuver.
Supervised AV Operations Remain
The DMV saw the safety concerns and incidents as a major factor in ordering a suspension of the Cruise. Aside from that, the California Public Utilities Commission suspended Cruise's license to transport and charge passengers for rides within the state.
"The manufacturer's vehicles are not safe for the public's operation," the DMV justified on the suspension order. Meanwhile, Cruise openly accepted the suspension and announced that it would pause all driverless operations, for now.
However, the robotaxi service provider denied that the suspension is related to any new on-road accidents and that supervised AV operations will continue. The company also remained firm that Cruise vehicles are safer than human drivers.
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