- The NHTSA was aware of five incidents involving Cruise vehicles and pedestrians.
- In October, the agency imposed a $1.5 million fine on the robotaxi-developing company.
- Cruise has since ceased operations and has been folded into GM’s autonomous driving division.
It’s been a month since GM pulled the pin on Cruise, its self-driving offshoot that has spent years developing robotaxis that were set to revolutionize how we get around. Over the past 8 years, GM dumped more than $10 billion into Cruise, but in its last year of existence, the company was battered by safety investigations, recalls, and fines. Now, with the company effectively dead and folded into GM’s autonomous driving department, one of these investigations has been closed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into Cruise in October 2023, just two weeks after one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian and dragged her along the pavement for 20 feet. The safety agency became aware of five incidents involving collisions between a Cruise vehicle and a pedestrian. It also had concerns about two incidents of Cruise vehicles driving near pedestrians on crosswalks.
Read: GM Gives Up On Cruise, Ends Robotaxi Push
While closing the investigation, the NHTSA said Cruise had addressed some of its safety concerns in a recall issued in November 2023. It also acknowledged GM’s decision to cease business operations at Cruise and said none of the company’s robotaxis are currently driving around on public roads, Reuters reports.
Cruise was fined $1.5 million by the NHTSA in October after it was revealed it had withheld important information about the 2023 accidents. Cruise disclosed the crash to the relevant authorities shortly after it occurred but attempted to convince authorities not to open an investigation. It also failed to disclose, for one month after the accident, that the woman had been dragged along the road.
An investigation into the crash led by law firm Quinn Emanuel found that then-chief executive Kyle Vogt and chief operating officer Gil West disbanded the company’s response team less than 24 hours after the accident. They also failed to gather important information from witnesses at the scene, while Vogt only wanted to share a 4-second clip of the crash with authorities.
