Cruise fined $1.5M for failing to report right away its robo-car dragged a pedestrian

Code-controlled taxi biz tiptoes back with supervised driving in Phoenix and Dallas

Embattled driverless taxi outfit Cruise has been fined $1.5 million for leaving some essential details out of its initial reports to the US government about an accident involving one of its robo-vehicles and a pedestrian last year.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced yesterday that General Motors-owned Cruise had agreed to a consent order that includes the fine and promises on safety stemming from a mishap one year ago tomorrow.

In that incident last October, a pedestrian was first hit by another vehicle, which propelled them into the path of an oncoming Cruise car. The computer-controlled vehicle braked but still stuck the pedestrian, causing them to fall underneath. After stopping momentarily, realizing something was amiss, the Cruise ride resumed movement to reach what it thought was a safe spot, and dragged the pedestrian about 20 feet before coming to a final stop. The last part, the dragging of the victim, was initially wrongly withheld from the NHTSA, the regulator said.

According to the consent order [PDF], NHTSA rules require any manufacturer or operator of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) to submit an initial report within one calendar day of receiving notice of an accident, followed by a 10-day report summarizing updated findings. Cruise submitted both reports, but it wasn't until it filed an updated report a month later that the dragging was mentioned.

As the consent order put it:

NHTSA asserted that Cruise was aware of the Cruise vehicle's post-crash behavior, including the dragging of the pedestrian, at the time the required one-day and ten-day reports were filed, but omitted that material information from the reports.

A Cruise spokesperson told The Register that the outfit admitted to withholding accident information in January this year when it released the findings of a review by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan of the company's operations.

Cruise maintains it has reviewed past reports and added necessary details, and agreed to the consent order "to administratively resolve these issues." 

In addition to paying the aforementioned $1.5 million penalty within 30 days (GM should be able to handle the fine even if its robo-ride subsidiary is strapped for cash), Cruise has also agreed to submit a corrective action plan laying out how it will improve compliance with NHTSA rules.

Cruise will also have to report additional information about its operations to the NHTSA (including vehicle miles traveled, number of cars on the road, and the mode of operations), report all software updates that may impact ADS operations, and compile an ADS safety framework, report all ticketed traffic violations, and meet NHTSA staff quarterly to discuss its operations. The consent agreement will last for two years, but can be renewed if the NHTSA sees fit.

"Our agreement with NHTSA is a step forward in a new chapter for Cruise, building on our progress under new leadership, improved processes and culture, and a firm commitment to greater transparency with our regulators," Cruise Chief Safety Officer Steve Kenner told The Register in a statement.

"We look forward to continued close collaboration with NHTSA as our operations progress, in service of our shared goal of improving road safety."

The NHTSA said the consent agreement has no impact on its ongoing investigation into the safety of Cruise's ADS system after several pedestrian collisions. The regulator has received two incident reports from Cruise and "identified two additional relevant incidents with videos posted to public websites." The investigation is looking into "causal factors that may relate to ADS driving policies and performance around pedestrians, and to fully assess the potential safety risks," the NHTSA said.

Cruise's pedestrian accidents led to the robotaxi operator suspending all driverless operations last year shortly after having its license suspended in California following accusations from the state that Cruise lied about the same things the NHTSA just fined it over. 

The outfit has restarted ADS operations in Phoenix and Dallas, but not without safety drivers, who will be on hand to take the wheel when needed. Manual driving operations have also been resumed in the aforementioned cities and in Houston. ®

PS: Shame to see hooligans tagging Waymo self-driving taxis while there are passengers inside. Someone bring these losers to book.