GM suspends production of future robotaxi vehicles
After the robotaxi company Cruise had to stop driving without people at the wheel, its parent company General Motors is also suspending production of a future generation of vehicles without a steering wheel and pedals.
Following the production of a small number of pre-series vehicles, production of the vehicles named "Origin" will be stopped for the time being, a GM spokesperson announced. He gave no indication as to how quickly it could be resumed.
The "Origin" vehicles were developed together with Honda and, according to current plans, will also be used in Japan in a few years' time. There is no space for a driver in the rectangular cars with sliding doors.
Ban after accidents
After two accidents involving pedestrians, the Californian transportation authority Cruise banned cars without safety drivers from driving on the streets of San Francisco. The GM subsidiary then suspended driverless operation at other locations as well. Vehicles from competitor Waymo are still allowed to drive driverless through San Francisco.
The authority's decision was triggered in particular by an accident at the beginning of October in which a woman fell under a Cruise vehicle and was dragged several meters by the car. According to the accident report, the pedestrian was initially hit by another vehicle with a person at the wheel and thrown in front of the self-driving car. Although the self-driving car braked immediately, it was no longer able to prevent the collision.
The traffic authority is particularly bothered by what happened afterwards. The robotaxi initially stopped, but then tried to pull over to the side of the road. The woman stuck under the car was dragged around six meters and the car reached a speed of over eleven kilometers per hour, according to the authority's decision. In addition, Cruise had initially portrayed the accident as harmless. The company is now having the initial communication with the authorities after the accident investigated.
- Despite the stop in robotaxi operations due to traffic accidents in San Francisco, General Motors subsidiary Cruise continues its collaboration with Honda to develop the 'Origin' self-driving vehicles.
- The ban on cars without safety drivers in San Francisco forced Cruise to halt driverless operation at other locations, however, their competitor Waymo's vehicles are still permitted to cruise driverlessly.
- Amidst the controversy, Cruise is scrutinizing their initial communication with authorities following an accident involving a pedestrian, as the car continued moving and dragged the individual several meters despite immediate braking.
Source: www.dpa.com
