Cruise, the autonomous vehicle division of General Motors, has been fined $1.5 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for failing to fully disclose the details of an October 2023 incident in which one of its driverless cars hit and dragged a pedestrian for 20 feet in San Francisco.
The pedestrian, who had initially been struck by a human driver in a hit-and-run, was seriously injured when the Cruise vehicle, traveling at around 7 miles per hour, dragged her following the initial impact.
Cruise submitted reports to NHTSA after the accident, but these reports failed to mention that the pedestrian was dragged by the vehicle, a critical detail that was only later revealed when NHTSA requested full video footage of the event. As part of the company’s consent order with NHTSA, which includes the $1.5 million penalty, Cruise must now comply with enhanced safety and transparency requirements, including regular reporting and quarterly reviews with the agency.
Cruise Withheld Key Information on Incident
The failure to disclose the full extent of the pedestrian’s injuries in the initial reports has drawn significant scrutiny.
Cruise filed an incomplete crash report one day after the incident and submitted a second report ten days later, both of which omitted the dragging incident. The company also failed to verbally inform authorities about the dragging during a meeting with NHTSA, San Francisco’s Mayor’s Office, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and other officials on October 3, 2023.
During that meeting, Cruise executives attempted to play a video of the crash, but technical difficulties prevented the full sequence from being shown. Despite being aware of the pedestrian’s dragging, Cruise executives chose not to mention this fact, stating that they preferred to let the video “speak for itself.”
The omission came to light only after NHTSA requested the full video of the accident, which showed the pedestrian being dragged by the autonomous vehicle. This led NHTSA to require Cruise to amend four additional crash reports that had been incomplete. In response, Cruise hired a law firm to investigate the incident and the company’s internal handling of the situation. The firm’s report, a 100-page document, detailed the company’s failures in reporting and communications.
NHTSA Issues New Safety Rules
In addition to the fine, Cruise is now subject to a series of new requirements from NHTSA. The company must:
- Submit a corrective action plan, including reports on the total number of vehicles in operation, miles traveled, and whether they operated without drivers.
- Provide summaries of software updates that affect vehicle operations.
- Report citations and observed violations of traffic laws.
- Outline how it plans to improve safety measures going forward.
The order will last at least two years and may be extended to three if necessary. Cruise will also be required to meet quarterly with NHTSA to review its operations and ensure compliance with safety protocols.
Despite these measures, NHTSA’s investigation into whether Cruise is adequately protecting pedestrians remains open, Reuters reports. Cruise is also under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, raising the possibility of further legal consequences.
Cruise Restructures After Incident
The crash and subsequent mishandling of the reporting process have sparked significant changes within Cruise. Following the incident, the company halted its self-driving operations. In November 2023, just one month after the accident, Cruise’s CEO resigned, and General Motors announced plans to reduce its investment in the company by “hundreds of millions of dollars” while restructuring its leadership. Nine additional executives were dismissed in December 2023 as the company struggled to recover from the backlash.
However, Cruise has begun making moves to rebound under new leadership. GM invested $850 million into Cruise earlier this year, and the company has resumed operations with drivers behind the wheel. In Arizona and Houston, Cruise vehicles with human operators are back on the road, and the company has returned to limited operations in California as well, though these vehicles also now include drivers.
The company is still navigating significant regulatory hurdles, and its ability to recover fully from this incident remains uncertain. For now, Cruise faces ongoing investigations from multiple federal agencies and a two-year oversight order from NHTSA.
Featured Image courtesy of HEATHER SOMERVILLE/REUTERS
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