Cruise recalls autonomous vehicle fleet, closing one U.S. probe

U.S. auto safety regulators closed an investigation into the performance of autonomous vehicle company Cruise’s robotaxis after it agreed to recall its entire fleet of 1,194 robotaxis in order to fix an issue with unexpected breaking.

Cruise patched a software update in order to fix the issue, according to the recall notice shared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The agency said it opened the investigation in December 2022 after receiving allegations of inappropriate hard breaking and complete stops, both of which can increase the risk of a crash.

The organization analyzed data from 7,632 reports of hard breaking. It said it found Cruise robotaxis contributed to 10 crashes, with four resulting in injury.

“In view of the recall action taken by Cruise and ODI’s (NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation) analysis of available data, including data presented by Cruise demonstrating a reduced occurrence of hard braking incidents after the software updates, ODI is closing this preliminary evaluation,” the regulatory office wrote.

A Cruise spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment.

The agency is still investigating reports that Cruise’s robotaxis may not have used proper caution around pedestrians in roadways, including sidewalks.

The closing of the investigation is some relief for the troubled autonomous vehicle company.

A Cruise robotaxi crashed into and dragged a pedestrian to the side of a street in San Francisco in October. That crash led regulators to declare the cars a danger to public safety, leading Cruise to suspend its driverless cars nationwide.

Since then, the company has been working to restore its public image. It fired a number of leaders, recently named a new CEO, and launched an emergency responder advisory council.

The company resumed manual and supervised operations in Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas.

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