The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has initiated a preliminary investigation into cases of Cruise's autonomous vehicles hitting pedestrians after recognizing two reports from the NHTSA and two more situations found on public websites. Cruise has provided continuous assistance to the NHTSA in responding to its request for data.
Federal regulators have initiated a preliminary inquiry to investigate whether Cruise autonomous cars acted with the necessary caution in the vicinity of pedestrians. This probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was prompted by two reports of pedestrian injuries due to Cruise vehicles in the preceding months, along with two other accidents that were revealed via videos posted on public websites. On Monday, the NHTSA launched its investigation into Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors.
One incident in October involved a pedestrian being thrown by another vehicle into the path of a driverless Cruise vehicle, which matches the details of a hit-and-run crash in San Francisco that sent a pedestrian to the hospital. At the time of the incident, the company declared their autonomous car had braked aggressively and that they were collaborating with SFPD in order to pinpoint the hit-and-run driver. Cruise also conveyed to the NHTSA that they had sent them video footage of the accident, and that the regulator did not have any further queries.
The other event occurred in August, where an autonomous Cruise vehicle clocked in at a speed of 1.4 miles per hour and struck a pedestrian who had stepped into a crosswalk when the traffic light had turned green. EMS transported the pedestrian, who later reported experiencing knee pain. Cruise revealed that the NHTSA had never contacted the company regarding this or the two incidents reported on social media.
A Cruise spokesperson, Hannah Lindow, stated that the company's safety records are better than that of human drivers and that they are in regular contact with NHTSA and are willing to cooperate with any of their requests. Cruise, alongside Waymo, has been testing driverless vehicles in the streets of San Francisco and have faced some criticism. But advocates of autonomous driving have argued that driverless cars are safer than traditional vehicles. Numerous firms, including some from China, are also conducting tests on San Francisco roads.
コメント