Cruise robotaxi overview:ย
- Who: General Motors subsidiary Cruise, a robotaxi company, has agreed to reduce operations in San Francisco by 50%, according to media reports.ย
- Why: Three Cruise robotaxis were involved in multiple collisions over the past week, including one with a fire truck.
- Where: Cruise San Francisco has been allowed to operate a 24-hour driverless taxi service.
Cruise robotaxi has agreed to cut its San Francisco fleet by 50%, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told both CNBC and CNN.
The move comes after the Cruise San Francisco fleet was involved in multiple traffic accidents in the past week, including one with a fire truck. The crashes happened after the taxis appeared to stall in intersections, CNBC reported.
โThe DMV is in contact with Cruise and law enforcement officials to determine the facts and requested Cruise to immediately reduce its active fleet of operating vehicles by 50% until the investigation is complete and Cruise takes appropriate corrective actions to improve road safety,โ the department said in a statement, according to CNN.
The fire truck crash is still being investigated, and now Cruise San Francisco can operate fewer than 50 driverless cars during the daytime. Up to 150 can be in operation at night, CNN reports.
Cruise robotaxi identified fire truck, hit brakes and slowed before collision, Cruise San Francisco GM says
The Cruise robotaxi that collided with a fire truck was near an intersection with low visibility due to buildings and also had the added difficulty of an emergency vehicle traveling in an oncoming lane as it went through the intersection on a red light, according to Cruise San Francisco General Manager Greg Dieterich.
The Cruise San Francisco robotaxi identified the risk of a collision and reduced speed while braking but was unable to avoid the collision, Dieterich said. The Cruise robotaxis have had more than 168,000 interactions in the first seven months of 2023 overall in 3 million miles of robotaxi rides, Dieterich added.
Cruise vehicles are not the only autonomous cars to require adjustments.
Tesla reworked and then began distributing a new version of its driver-assist program, Full Self-Driving, after it recalled the program in 363,000 vehicles with improvements to decision-making at yellow lights, slowing down at stop signs, adjusting to speed limit changes and changing lanes from a turn lane to continue going straight.
Have you ever ridden in a driverless car or taxi? Let us know in the comments.
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