The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise's permits for deploying driverless taxis across the state, effective immediately, citing an "unreasonable risk to public safety."
"My hope is as a result of this they can improve safety measures because we want to welcome this technology, but we need to do so responsibly and safely," San Francisco Mayor London Breed said.
Cruise suspension result of DMV safety probe
The DMV, which is responsible for regulating autonomous vehicles across the state, issued its decision following a two-month long probe into Cruise's safety record after "recent concerning incidents."
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The DMV launched its investigation following a collision between a Cruise vehicle and a San Francisco fire truck. In announcing its probe, the DMV also noted that it asked Cruise to cut its San Francisco fleet of driverless cars in half, which Cruise agreed to, limiting the company to just 50 vehicles during the day and 150 vehicles during the evening hours while the DMV continued its investigation.
While the suspension hits the brakes on the company's ability to shuttle around paying customers, Cruise is still allowed to continue testing its self-driving vehicles across the state, so long as human safety drivers ride along in the front seat so they are able to override the car and take over if needed.
Cruise's recent suspension, according to the DMV, stems not only from safety concerns, but also allegations the autonomous vehicle company failed to share critical information with state regulators about a recent accident involving one of its driverless taxis.
DMV documents reveal reasons behind suspension
In documents obtained by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit, the DMV explained its suspension decision was the result of an Oct. 2 accident on Fifth and Market streets in San Francisco when a pedestrian was struck by a hit-and-run driver and thrown into the path of a Cruise driverless car. The DMV said while video initially provided by Cruise showed the driverless car coming to a complete stop after hitting the pedestrian, investigators with the DMV later learned the Cruise car then attempted to pull over to the side of the street while the woman was still trapped underneath the vehicle, dragging her another 20 feet.
The video footage presented to the department ended with the [car's] initial stop following the hard-braking maneuver. Footage of the subsequent movement of the [car] to perform a pullover maneuver was not shown to the department and Cruise did not disclose that any additional movement of the vehicle occurred after the initial stop of the vehicle.
DMV Suspension Order
"The video footage presented to the department ended with the [car's] initial stop following the hard-braking maneuver," the DMV noted in its suspension order. "Footage of the subsequent movement of the [car] to perform a pullover maneuver was not shown to the department and Cruise did not disclose that any additional movement of the vehicle occurred after the initial stop of the vehicle."
Cruise denies ever withholding full video of accident from DMV
Cruise denies ever withholding the full video from the DMV. In fact, a spokesperson for the company says the entire clip of the accident, including the portion showing the Cruise car dragging the pedestrian, was shown to DMV officials several times on Oct. 3, just one day after the accident. Cruise says several days later, when the DMV requested a copy of the video, Cruise provided DMV officials with the very same video it had shown DMV investigators just ten days earlier.
Hours after the accident, Cruise also showed the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit video of the incident from cameras mounted atop the Cruise vehicle. The roughly 20 second clip ended just after the Cruise vehicle came to a complete stop after striking the pedestrian. Neither the video nor Cruise's description of the incident at the time included any reference to the "pullover maneuver" that resulted in the vehicle dragging the pedestrian along a normally busy street within downtown San Francisco.
Shortly after the DMV announced the suspension, Cruise, for the first time, publicly acknowledged its driverless vehicle attempted to move to the side of the street, despite having a pedestrian trapped underneath the car.
"When the [car] tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward," said Navideh Forghani, Cruise spokesperson. "Our teams are currently doing an analysis to identify potential enhancements to the [car’s] response to this kind of extremely rare event."
Cruise's admission comes more than twenty days after the accident.
NBC Bay Area investigation delved into safety record of driverless cars
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has spent the past few months reporting on safety concerns surrounding autonomous vehicles and back in August aired an in-depth report delving into the industry's record of crashes across the state. Regulations in California require driverless car companies to self-report each collision involving an autonomous vehicle. Transportation documents, obtained by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit through a public records request, showed autonomous cars have been in involved in at least 532 collisions since June 2018. However, in 252 of those crashes, the car was being fully controlled by the test driver, known in the industry as ‘conventional mode.’ The remaining 280 crashes occurred while the car was in full control, known as ‘autonomous mode,’ resulting in at least 64 injuries and a dead dog. Of those crashes, 42 were truly driverless – with no safety driver inside the vehicle.
Cruise responds to questions about missing portion of video
The Investigative Unit reached out to Cruise to explain why its own videos and descriptions of the incident released to reporters failed to include the "pullover maneuver," which the DMV now says "may have caused further injury to the pedestrian."
While Cruise could not provide specific details, a spokesperson said the company moved to get information released quickly in hopes law enforcement officials could use the material to find and apprehend the person involved in the hit and run. First responders initially had no idea the pedestrian was even hit by another car since it fled the scene, leaving many to believe the woman was hit solely by Cruise's driverless vehicle. The original video Cruise showed to media outlets proved the presence of a hit-and-run-driver, even though it neglected to show the aftermath of the accident when the Cruise vehicle dragged the pedestrian.
The DMV said it provided Cruise with the steps needed to apply to reinstate its permits and noted the suspension will remain in place "until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction."
Watch our entire investigative series
- Part 1: Driverless cars seek San Francisco expansion despite worries tech is unsafe
- Part 2: CPUC votes to expand driverless car operations in San Francisco
- Part 3: San Francisco city attorney files motion to pump the brakes on driverless cars
- Part 4: Google's Waymo says insurance data shows its driverless cars are safer than humans
- Part 5: Hit-and-run driver strikes pedestrian, tossing her into path of Cruise car in San Francisco
- Part 6: Driverless trucks and robot deliveries promise fewer traffic jams than robotaxis
- Part 7: Cruise says its robotaxis can now better detect emergency vehicles
- Part 8: California DMV orders Cruise's driverless cars off the road
Contact The Investigative Unit
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