https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/cruise_pedestrian_california/ # # Sign in / up The Register(r) -- Biting the hand that feeds IT # # # Topics Security Security All SecurityCyber-crimePatchesResearchCSO (X) Off-Prem Off-Prem All Off-PremEdge + IoTChannelPaaS + IaaSSaaS (X) On-Prem On-Prem All On-PremSystemsStorageNetworksHPCPersonal TechCxOPublic Sector (X) Software Software All SoftwareAI + MLApplicationsDatabasesDevOpsOSesVirtualization (X) Offbeat Offbeat All OffbeatDebatesColumnistsScienceGeek's GuideBOFHLegalBootnotesSite NewsAbout Us (X) Special Features Special Features All Special Features Cloud Infrastructure Week Cybersecurity Month Blackhat and DEF CON Sysadmin Month The Reg in Space Emerging Clean Energy Tech Week Spotlight on RSA Energy Efficient Datacenters Vendor Voice Vendor Voice Vendor Voice All Vendor VoiceAmazon Web Services (AWS) Business TransformationDDN Google Cloud Data TransformationGoogle Cloud InfrastructureGoogle WorkspaceHewlett Packard Enterprise: AI & ML solutionsHewlett Packard Enterprise: Edge-to-Cloud PlatformIntel vProVMware (X) Resources Resources Whitepapers Webinars & Events Newsletters [personalte] Personal Tech 6 comment bubble on white California commission says Cruise withheld data about parking atop of a pedestrian 6 comment bubble on white Stalled self-driving car biz up to its axles in problems icon Brandon Vigliarolo Mon 4 Dec 2023 // 20:00 UTC # California's Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has threatened driverless taxi outfit Cruise with fines and sanctions unless it can prove it didn't withhold information and make misleading statements about an October accident. According [PDF] to CPUC administrative law judge Robert Mason, Cruise officials neglected to tell the CPUC that a pedestrian struck by a Cruise vehicle on October 2 was dragged 20 feet before the car parked on top of her. Cruise has been in a tailspin since the incident, with a national pause on operations and a reshuffle in its management. "[Cruise spokesperson Jose] Alvarado's description of the incident only included that the Cruise AV immediately stopped upon impact with the pedestrian and contacted Cruise's remote assistance," Mason said. [personalte] "Mr. Alvarado's description of the October 2, 2023 incident omitted that the Cruise AV had engaged in the pullover maneuver which resulted in the pedestrian being dragged an additional 20 feet at 7 mph," the judge added, citing testimony from the CPUC analyst first informed of the incident. [personalte] [personalte] Along with failing to mention the dragging of the pedestrian, who was in critical condition following the accident, Cruise also allegedly withheld video evidence of the collision from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and CPUC, only providing a full account on October 18. "Cruise misled the DMV and, in turn, the Commission into thinking that the original video shown and commented on accurately memorialized the full extent of the incident," Mason said. [personalte] Along with its actions toward the Commission and DMV, Mason also said that Cruise's public statement on the incident, which Cruise removed from its site on Friday "out of respect to ongoing regulatory engagement," was publicly misleading. According to the judge, Cruise wrote that it had "proactively shared information with the DMV, CPUC and [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] NHTSA ... when, in fact, it withheld information ... for 15 days." Cruise has until a February 6 hearing to "show cause, if any, why Cruise should not be fined, penalized, and/or receive other regulatory sanctions," Mason said. The car biz could face penalties up to $105,000 per violation of several sections of California's public utilities code, fines up to $7,500 per day per offense, and additional actions. [personalte] "Cruise is committed to rebuilding trust with our regulators and will respond in a timely manner to the CPUC," a company spokesperson told The Register. We thought computers were supposed to make driving safer? Cruise, which is owned by General Motors, has had a bumpy ride in recent years, and it has only become worse since the October pedestrian collision. The October 2 accident, and another pedestrian collision in August, triggered an NHTSA investigation into Cruise's safety record in mid-October - just the first sign of more trouble to come. By October 24, California's DMV had suspended Cruise's license to operate driverless taxis in the state, in part due to misrepresentations mentioned in Mason's decision. A few days later Cruise announced it was pausing all driverless operations. * People still seem to think their fancy cars are fully self-driving * Self-driving car computers may be 'as bad' for emissions as datacenters * Cruise admits its driverless robo-taxis need a human at the remote-control wheel * No more Mr Nice DoJ: Tesla gets subpoenas over self-driving software claims Cruise then issued a software recall notice to add anti-pedestrian dragging features to its cars on November 8, but by November 15 had paused all supervised and manual operations of its fleet. Five days later, founder and CEO Kyle Vogt announced he was resigning from the company. Last week, GM CEO Mary Barra said her company would "substantially" reduce its spending on Cruise after earlier pausing its production of Cruise-branded "Origin" autonomous vans. GM has invested around $2 billion in Cruise since it bought the company in 201. It's unclear how large GM's spending reduction on the subsidiary will be or what it plans to do with Cruise given these most recent developments; we'll update this story if we hear back. (r) Get our Tech Resources # Share More about * Autonomy * California * Cruise More like these x More about * Autonomy * California * Cruise * Self-driving Car Narrower topics * AI Broader topics * Automation * United States of America More about # Share 6 comment bubble on white COMMENTS More about * Autonomy * California * Cruise More like these x More about * Autonomy * California * Cruise * Self-driving Car Narrower topics * AI Broader topics * Automation * United States of America TIP US OFF Send us news --------------------------------------------------------------------- Other stories you might like CEO of self-driving cab outfit Cruise parks his career Updated After string of self-driving crashes, Kyle Vogt plans to 'spend time with my family and explore some new ideas' AI + ML20 Nov 2023 | 22 Cruise parks entire US fleet over safety fears Roadblocks ahead as external watchdog hired for full audit of self-driving biz Personal Tech15 Nov 2023 | 15 Cruise admits its driverless robo-taxis need a human at the remote-control wheel Plus: Parent GM taps brakes on AI van production AI + ML7 Nov 2023 | 9 Meeting the global need for greener data How new server CPUs have been optimised for performance per watt to improve datacenter sustainability metrics Sponsored Feature [personalte] Cruise patches robo-taxi software to not drag humans across the road anymore Self-driving car outfit also creates chief safety officer role. No wonder AI + ML8 Nov 2023 | 22 US lawmakers have Chinese LiDAR on their threat-detection radar Amid fears Beijing could harvest spatial data, letter suggests Huawei-style bans may be needed Security30 Nov 2023 | 13 Cruise blues: Robotaxi firm pauses all driverless operations Decision comes after CA revokes firm's driverless license and NHTSA signal an investigation AI + ML27 Oct 2023 | 9 Red light for robotaxis as California suspends Cruise's license to self-drive Updated Indefinite ban due to 'public safety' Personal Tech24 Oct 2023 | 22 US launches official probe into Cruise after pair of pedestrian accidents Hey, we're still safer than human drivers, says GM outfit AI + ML17 Oct 2023 | 7 Google ends partnership to build four San Francisco GoogleBurbs Working from home, smaller office footprints, and cost cutting made GoogleVille redundant On-Prem3 Nov 2023 | 32 Tesla swerves liability in Autopilot death lawsuit Cali jury decides 9-3 Muskmobile maker wasn't at fault when Model 3 veered into tree and exploded AI + ML31 Oct 2023 | 43 US prosecutors slam Autonomy tycoon's attempt to get charges tossed Allege that 'greed and hubris' led Mike Lynch and co to 'pretend Autonomy thrived' Legal18 Oct 2023 | 27 The Register icon Biting the hand that feeds IT About Us* * Contact us * Advertise with us * Who we are Our Websites* * The Next Platform * DevClass * Blocks and Files Your Privacy* * Cookies Policy * Privacy Policy * T's & C's * Do not sell my personal information Situation Publishing Copyright. All rights reserved (c) 1998-2023 no-js