A “robotaxi” collision with a fire engine has led to the removal of several driverless cars from the roads of San Francisco. Cruise, the autonomous car subsidiary of General Motors, has been instructed to decrease the size of its self-driving fleet in the city by half following the incident. Previously, the company had 100 vehicles operating during the day and 300 at night, but now it will have 50 and 150 respectively. The “robotaxi” crash occurred when a fire engine with sirens blaring was met by the driverless cab that failed to brake in time after identifying the vehicle coming from the opposite lane. Greg Dietrerich, Cruise’s general manager for San Francisco, explained that the emergency vehicle had switched lanes to bypass a red light, thus complicating the autonomous vehicle’s ability to correctly predict its path.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in San Francisco has ordered Cruise to reduce its active fleet of operating vehicles by 50% as it investigates recent incidents concerning Cruise vehicles. The DMV is collaborating with Cruise and law enforcement officials to determine the facts and expects the company to take appropriate actions to enhance road safety once the investigation is complete. It is worth noting that San Francisco became a trailblazer in the legalization of driverless cars without safety drivers behind the wheel, with California permitting Cruise and Waymo to run 24/7 driverless taxis and charge for their services earlier this month.
However, these self-driving vehicles have been involved in a series of incidents. Earlier this month, multiple Cruise vehicles caused a major traffic disruption at a busy intersection in San Francisco’s popular North Beach area due to wireless connection failures. Last week, a car got stuck after driving into wet concrete. On the other hand, Waymo, another company conducting tests, has encountered fewer issues, although in June, one of their self-driving cars accidentally hit and killed a dog that had darted into the road.
Some politicians in San Francisco are now calling for a review of the permissions granted to these companies. Cruise has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
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