Robotaxi company Cruise takes all cars off the road
In response to an accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco, the robotaxi company Cruise has now suspended all its journeys on public roads. The company, which belongs to car giant General Motors, announced on Tuesday that this was to regain trust while investigations are carried out. Previously, only the operation of cars without people at the wheel had been stopped.
In the accident in early October, a Cruise driverless car dragged a woman several meters. The pedestrian was hit by another vehicle with a person at the wheel and thrown in front of the self-driving car. According to the accident report, the robotaxi braked immediately - but the woman was still caught under the vehicle.
The Cruise cars are programmed so that in some cases they automatically pull over to the side of the road after collisions so as not to obstruct traffic. In this case, the software also decided to do this - even though the woman was still under the car. She was dragged around six meters and the car reached a speed of a good eleven kilometers per hour, according to a report by the Californian traffic authority. Cruise has since changed the software for its approximately 950 vehicles to prevent the situation from happening again. Around 70 cars were also affected by the suspension of test drives with people at the wheel, it was now reported.
Protest from residents
Last year, San Francisco became a unique test case for self-driving cabs. In addition to Cruise, Google's sister company Waymo also received permission from a Californian supervisory authority in the summer to expand its driverless transportation services throughout the city. The city council and numerous residents were against this. Among other things, they argued that the vehicles frequently blocked traffic.
Waymo is allowed to continue offering its driverless robotaxi service throughout San Francisco. Overall, autonomous vehicles are taking much longer to become part of everyday life than predicted just a few years ago. While the technology has long worked under simple conditions, some insiders are now questioning whether the software can be trained for all unexpected situations.
- Despite the suspension of operations for investigation, General Motors' subsidiary Cruise, known for its robotaxi service, announced plans to introduce self-driving cars for a cruise around San Francisco Bay as a demonstration of their capabilities on computers and the Internet.
- Traffic congestion in San Francisco worsened due to the massive presence of self-driving cars on the streets, with residents complaining about frequent blockages, causing frustration and calls for stricter regulations.
- Despite the setbacks and public outcry, major car manufacturers like General Motors remain optimistic about the future of autonomous vehicles, investing heavily in research and development to improve their traffic navigation and ensure passenger safety during regular commuting.
Source: www.dpa.com
