Cruise kept self-driving cars on roads despite known risks to children and holes
Cruise, General Motors' self-driving car division, operated autonomous taxis in multiple US cities despite internal knowledge that its vehicles struggled to detect children and road holes. Internal materials reviewed by The Intercept show that Cruise's AVs lacked a high-precision classifier for children and could not reliably avoid construction pits. In October 2023, a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian, leading to investigations by NHTSA and the California DMV, which suspended driverless operations. Cruise has acknowledged the issues but maintains its cars are safer than human drivers.
- Date it happened
- 2023-10-01
- Organisation involved
- Cruise
- Product, system or model
- Cruise autonomous vehicles
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