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Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company of General engineshas issued a recall for 950 of its robotaxis after a collision with pedestrians in San Francisco last month.
The company previously grounded all its driverless operations after the Oct. 2 collision in which a pedestrian was thrown into the path of the Cruise robotaxi by a human driver in another car that hit her first.
Cruise’s autonomous vehicle braked aggressively before impact and then attempted to stop on the side of the road, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documentation and previous company statements. The vehicle dragged the pedestrian forward about 20 meters.
The October 2 collision led to a federal investigation. The clash, along with Cruise’s revelations surrounding it, led California regulators to strip the company of its licenses to operate self-driving vehicles in the state unless there was a human safety driver on board.
Rival Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, will continue to operate self-driving fleets in and outside California.
According to Cruise’s filing with the NHTSA on Nov. 7, Cruise discovered defects in the automated driving system software after the collision, specifically related to the “Collision Detection Subsystem.”
Cruise wrote in its filing with the Federal Vehicle Safety Agency: “Under certain conditions, a collision may occur, at which point the Collision Detection Subsystem may cause the Cruise AV to attempt to pull out of traffic rather than remain stationary if there is is not a car. the desired response after a collision. This problem can occur after a collision with a pedestrian who is low to the ground in the path of the AV.”
In a separate blog post Wednesday, Cruise said that in addition to implementing the voluntary recall, the company is now looking for a Chief Safety Officer. Louise Zhang, vice president of safety and systems at Cruise, serves as interim chief safety officer and oversees the company’s safety assessments and investigations, according to the company statement.
Cruise initiated third-party reviews of the October 2 incident, relying on a law firm known for its work on behalf of Tesla and Elon Musk, Quinn Emanuel, together with tech consultancy Exponent.
After Cruise lost its licenses in California and faced public backlash over safety concerns, the company also temporarily suspended production of its Cruise Origin driverless vans. Cruise and GM planned to produce a small number of these autonomous shuttles in Detroit. Unveiled in 2020, the Origin has no steering wheel or accelerator pedal and seats six passengers.
GM said last month that the company lost about $1.9 billion on Cruise between January and September this year, including $732 million in the third quarter alone.
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