GM Reboots Cruise

General Motors' self-driving taxi company, Cruise, is cautiously restarting operations after a tragic incident involving one of its autonomous vehicles led to a suspension of its license in California and a nationwide halt of its services. The company is now focusing on rebuilding trust, enhancing safety measures, and gradually resuming testing with human-driven vehicles to collect data for future driverless operations.

Cruise Incident and Suspension

In October 2023, a Cruise self-driving car struck and dragged a pedestrian for approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in San Francisco, causing severe injuries. The incident occurred after the pedestrian was initially hit by another human-driven vehicle. Following the tragic event, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked Cruise's permits to operate its vehicles in the state, citing a perceived lack of cooperation during the investigation and safety concerns.

Operational Halt and Investigations

Following the October incident, Cruise voluntarily halted all operations nationwide and faced investigations from federal regulators, including:

• The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department initiated inquiries into the company in January 2024.
• Cruise underwent significant internal changes, with the resignation of its CEO and other executives, and a reduction of its workforce by about 25%.
• The company's internal investigation, commissioned through the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, identified shortcomings such as an 'us versus them' mentality towards regulators and an overly narrow focus on avoiding blame in the incident.

Safety Measures and Leadership Changes

Cruise has implemented several safety measures and leadership changes in the aftermath of the October incident. The company updated its software to improve its response to such incidents in the future and sought external expertise to enhance safety protocols. Additionally, Cruise replaced several executives, including its CEO, with individuals more closely affiliated with General Motors to ensure better oversight and alignment with safety standards.Under the new leadership, Cruise has admitted to falling short of expectations and acknowledged the need to meet the justifiable expectations of regulators and the communities it serves. The company is now working diligently to address the shortcomings identified in its internal investigation and rebuild trust with stakeholders.

Rebuilding and Resumption Plans

Cruise is now focusing on rebuilding trust with regulators and the public by taking a more cautious approach to resuming its driverless operations. The company plans to restart testing with manually driven vehicles in cities like Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston to collect essential data, such as:

• Speed limits, stop signs, traffic lights, lane markings, and right-turn-only lanes
• Creating detailed maps of the cities for the eventual resumption of driverless operations

While Cruise has not set a specific timeline for when its autonomous vehicles will start carrying passengers again, it aims to relaunch in one city with manually driven vehicles and supervised testing as soon as possible, once steps have been taken to rebuild trust with regulators and the public.

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