The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into GM subsidiary Cruise’s autonomous vehicle system following several incidents involving pedestrians in San Francisco, where the company operates a robotaxi service.
The most recent incident, which occurred October 2, left a woman stuck underneath a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by a human-driven vehicle. The San Francisco Police Department is also investigating that event.
NHTSA opened the preliminary probe after receiving reports of incidents of Cruise vehicles that “may not have exercised appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway,” according to a filing on the agency’s website.
“Cruise’s safety record over 5 million miles continues to outperform comparable human drivers at a time when pedestrian injuries and deaths are at an all-time high,” Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow said in an emailed statement. “Cruise communicates regularly with NHTSA and has consistently cooperated with each of NHTSA’s requests for information –– whether associated with an investigation or not –– and we plan to continue doing so.”
The agency’s office of defects investigation (ODI) has received two reports involving injuries from Cruise and identified two additional relevant incidents with videos posted to public websites. These reports involve Cruise vehicles that have encroached on pedestrians present in or entering roadways. “This could increase the risk of a collision with a pedestrian, which may result in severe injury or death,” NHTSA said in the filing.
This preliminary investigation will determine the scope and severity of the potential problem, the agency said, noting that it may include causal factors that may relate to the automated driving system’s driving policies and performance around pedestrians.
NHTSA added that the total number of “relevant pedestrian” incidents is unknown.