General Motors (GM) has temporarily halted its autonomous taxi service as it grapples with safety concerns. GM's autonomous driving division, GM Cruise, had been operating four hundred self-driving taxis in San Francisco, California, and an additional two hundred in Austin, Houston, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. However, the California Department of Motor Vehicles recently suspended GM Cruise's license for autonomous taxis following allegations of withholding critical video footage related to an accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco.
The incident in question involved one of the autonomous vehicles braking too late for a pedestrian, and the vehicle continued to move for twenty feet with the victim underneath. As a result, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked GM Cruise's permit, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal regulator, has launched an investigation into the accident.
This development marks a significant setback for GM Cruise, which had ambitious plans to expand its self-driving taxi experiment to other U.S. cities and, in collaboration with Honda, to Japan. Restoring public trust is now the top priority for GM Cruise, leading to the immediate suspension of all self-driving taxis from the streets. GM Cruise had been operating modified Chevrolet Bolts, with the intention of transitioning to the Cruise Origin, a vehicle specially designed for autonomous transportation.
While GM Cruise faces these challenges, General Motors itself has invested €1.3 billion in self-driving technology this year alone. GM's CEO, Mary Barra, reiterated the company's unwavering belief in autonomous technology, underscoring their commitment to addressing safety concerns and ensuring that self-driving vehicles can become a reality.