The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced on Tuesday that it has suspended the permits for Cruise LLC, a company that produces self-driving vehicles.
In a statement, the DMV stated that it has notified Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors based in San Francisco, that their permits for deploying autonomous vehicles and conducting self-driving car tests have been suspended and are effective immediately. This decision does not affect the company's permit for testing with a safety driver.
According to the DMV, the suspension is related to several reasons:
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13 CCR §228.20 (b) (6) – Based on the characteristics of the manufacturer's vehicles, the Department determines that the manufacturer's vehicles are not safe for operation by the public.
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13 CCR §228.20 (b) (3) – The manufacturer misrepresented any information related to the safety of autonomous technologies in their vehicles.
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13 CCR §227.42 (b)(5) – Any action or inaction by the manufacturer or any of its agents, employees, contractors, or authorized representatives that, in the Department's view, poses an unjustified risk to public safety regarding the manufacturer's autonomous vehicle testing on public roads.
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13 CCR §227.42 (c) – The Department must immediately suspend or revoke the manufacturer's testing permit or deployment permit for autonomous vehicles if the manufacturer engages in practices that require immediate suspension for public safety.
Shortly after the DMV's announcement, Cruise stated that it would halt the operation of its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco.
"In the end, we're developing and deploying self-driving vehicles to save lives," the company stated.
Cruise had faced increased scrutiny after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allowed the company and its competitor Waymo to expand testing of their robotaxis in San Francisco. City authorities criticized this move and asked CPUC to reconsider, favoring a phased approach due to reports of vehicles making incorrect turns, stopping in the middle of roads, and obstructing emergency services.
Following CPUC's decision, Cruise agreed to reduce its robotaxi fleet in the city by half after two accidents, one of which involved an ambulance.
Cruise garnered additional attention after an incident earlier this month when a human driver struck a woman near Market Street and Fifth Street in downtown San Francisco, sending her into the path of a self-driving taxi.
The woman suffered serious injuries, and authorities are still searching for the driver who fled the scene.
In its statement on Tuesday, Cruise mentioned the incident at Market and Fifth streets.
"In the incident DMV is referencing, the human driver, who fled the scene, tragically struck a pedestrian and propelled her onto the path of a quadricycle. Before the impact, the vehicle abruptly stopped, and as the operator realized the collision, they attempted to stop further movement to avoid causing harm. Safety issues. As the AV attempted to come to a stop, it continued forward before coming to a complete stop, pulling the pedestrian forward. Our thoughts remain with the victim as we hope for a quick and full recovery," the company said.
However, the DMV stated in its suspension order that Cruise did not provide video showing what the vehicle did after the initial stop. The company also allegedly did not report the vehicle's movement.
The DMV claimed that Cruise's vehicle attempted to make a maneuver while the victim was still beneath it, but they learned of this from another department. Additional video was provided to the DMV after a request was made, and they received it on October 13th.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it was investigating Cruise following reports of incidents where the company's autonomous vehicles did not exercise due care toward pedestrians on the road.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu commended the DMV's decision, stating that it "confirms serious public safety concerns raised by city officials." He urged CPUC to develop a "reasonable and measured plan" regarding these vehicles.
"We hope CPUC, which regulates the ability of autonomous vehicles to transport passengers, similarly acknowledges the current impact of AVs on San Francisco's streets, including traffic blockages, disruptions to our transportation network, and interference with the operations of our emergency services, and accedes to our city's request to revisit its decision that allowed unfettered AV expansion in San Francisco," Chiu said.