The
cars are being recalled because the collision detection
subsystem of the Cruise Automated Driving Systems (ADS) software
may respond improperly after a crash, according to a notice
filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Wednesday.
Last month, a pedestrian in San Francisco was struck by a
hit-and-run driver and thrown into an adjacent lane and was hit
a second time by a Cruise robotaxi that was not able to stop in
time and then dragged the pedestrian.
The recall addresses circumstances in which the collision
detection subsystem may cause the Cruise AV to attempt to pull
over out of traffic instead of remaining stationary "when a
pullover is not the desired post-collision response," Cruise
said.
Cruise said last month it would halt operations nationwide after
California regulators suspended the robotaxi operator's license,
saying self-driving vehicles were a risk to the public. The
company on Monday said it plans to temporarily halt production
of its fully autonomous Cruise Origin.
Cruise said it determined "a similar collision with a risk of
serious injury could have recurred every 10 million to 100
million miles of driving on average prior to the software
update" but said it strives to continually improve.
"As our software improves, it is likely we will file additional
recalls to inform both NHTSA and the public of updates to
enhance safety across our fleet," Cruise said.
Cruise is facing two federal investigations over the safety of
its cars, including two incidents where the robot cars appeared
not to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Cruise - which has operations in Phoenix, Arizona; Houston,
Austin and Dallas in Texas; and Miami, Florida - is in a race
with Alphabet's Waymo unit and others to bring robot cars to the
market.
Cruise is conducting a search to hire a chief safety officer and
has hired law firm Quinn Emanuel to conduct an outside review.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Abinaya
Vijayaraghavan and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva and Chizu Nomiyama)
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