The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has suspended the permits of General Motors-owned autonomous vehicle (AV) company, Cruise, following an incident in which a pedestrian was struck by a human driver and propelled into the path of a Cruise robotaxi. The suspension applies specifically to Cruise trips where no human safety driver is onboard the vehicle. The DMV stated that it has the authority to withdraw permissions when there is an unreasonable risk to public safety.

Cruise, which saw San Francisco as a key testing ground for its driverless taxi technology, has been dealt a major blow by the suspension. Alongside Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Cruise was granted permission by state regulators in August to conduct paid taxi services without a safety driver present in San Francisco.

The rollout of robotaxis in San Francisco has been marred by problems, including traffic disruption and impeding first responders. Data shared by Cruise with the state in August revealed that Cruise AVs temporarily malfunctioned or shut down 177 times between January and mid-July 2023. Of these incidents, 26 occurred with a passenger inside the vehicle. Waymo recorded 58 similar events during the same time period. Furthermore, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency reported over 300 incidents of irregular driving involving Cruise and Waymo vehicles between April 2022 and April 2023. The San Francisco Fire Department also claimed that AVs interfered with their work 55 times in 2023.

Last year, Cruise lost contact with its entire fleet for 20 minutes, and an anonymous employee warned California regulators that the company frequently loses touch with its vehicles. Since their introduction in San Francisco, robotaxis have caused various issues, including a traffic jam during rush hour, blocking a traffic lane during a shooting response, and driving over fire hoses.

Jeffrey Tumlin, San Francisco's director of transportation, criticized the introduction of driverless cars, stating that Cruise and Waymo had only met the requirements for a learner's permit and were not yet definitive transit solutions. Others argued that the use of driverless cars would lead to further displacement of workers already pushed out of the taxi industry by companies like Uber and Lyft.

The decision to suspend Cruise's permits came after the DMV identified several issues, including the vehicles' performance, misrepresentation of safety information by the manufacturer, and actions or omissions that pose an unreasonable risk to the public. Cruise has faced increased scrutiny since the state's Public Utilities Commission allowed the company and Waymo to expand testing of their robotaxis in San Francisco.

Following the suspension, Cruise announced that it would be pausing operations of its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. The company stated that it is analyzing the incident involving the hit-and-run crash to identify potential enhancements to the AV's response. Cruise has also shared information and video footage with the DMV, Public Utilities Commission, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and has assisted the police in identifying the hit-and-run vehicle.

To reinstate its permits, Cruise will need to fulfill the requirements to the satisfaction of the DMV. The company expressed its hope for the victim's rapid and complete recovery and reiterated its commitment to developing and deploying autonomous vehicles to save lives.