California DMV suspends Cruise deployment and testing permits

The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended permits held by General Motors backed robotaxi company Cruise on Tuesday, dealing a major blow to the company’s self-driving ambitions.

Suspensions of the company’s driverless testing and deployment permits are effective immediately.

In explaining their decision DMV officials cited regulatory provisions which grant them authority to suspend or revoke permits when they determine vehicles are “not safe for the public’s operation.”

Further, the DMV cited another provision which states that permits can be suspended if a “manufacturer has misrepresented any information related to safety of the autonomous technology.”

There is no timetable for the permits to be reinstated, according to the DMV. The DMV said it has outlined the necessary steps for Cruise complete before applying for reinstatement, but it did not elaborate on what those steps entailed.

Cruise said it will comply with the suspension and pause its driverless operations in San Francisco.

The DMV’s decision comes after recent high-profile incidents in which Cruise vehicles have interfered with emergency responders and been involved in two pedestrian-related collisions.
 
It follows last week’s opening of a federal investigation into how Cruise vehicles handle pedestrian encounters.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began probing two incidents in which Cruise vehicles struck pedestrians and two more in which officials are exploring whether Cruise vehicles exercised “appropriate caution” around pedestrians.   
 
Cruise became the first company to start commercial driverless operations in San Francisco in June 2022. Problems started almost immediately. Days after the start of service, a Cruise vehicle was involved in a crash in which at least one passenger sustained injuries.

More recently, San Francisco city officials expressed concern after multiple incidents in which the company’s robotaxis clustered at intersections and, separately, interfered with emergency responders.  

But those concerns were overridden only two months ago when a separate regulatory entity, the California Public Utilities Commission, voted by a 3-1 margin to allow Cruise to expand the scope of its driverless operations across the city.

California follows a two-pronged regulatory approach: the DMV regulates vehicles and automated technology while the CPUC regulates commercial activity.

The 3-1 vote appeared to be a defining moment for robotaxi proponents in California, who broadly argued the potential for self-driving technology to eventually deliver widespread safety gains outweighed present-day growing pains.

But Tuesday’s decision raises fresh questions about the safety of Cruise’s self-driving technology at a time when the company is plotting a worldwide expansion. Last week, the company unveiled plans to launch its Origin robotaxi in Tokyo, in conjunction with Honda, which is also an investor in Cruise.

The DMV did not say Tuesday whether its Cruise suspension was linked to a single incident or a broader swath of problems.

Hannah Lindow, a spokesperson for the company, indicated the suspension was related to a collision earlier this month in which a Cruise vehicle struck and stopped atop a pedestrian – who had first been hit by a human-driven car and subsequently flung into the Cruise’s path.

“The AV braked aggressively before impact and because it detected a collision, it attempted to pull over to avoid further safety issues,” Lindow said. “When the AV tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward.”  
Cruise has worked with regulators to answer questions and assisted police with identifying the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle, she said.

Per terms of the suspension, Cruise can still operate vehicles in San Francisco, so long as a human safety driver is behind the wheel.

Cruise may request a hearing within five days of the suspension, according to the DMV, and it has up to 60 days to do so. To have its permits reinstated Cruise must provide the department with information on how it “has addressed the deficiencies” that led to the suspension.

This is a breaking story. Check back for further developments.