A robotaxi developed by Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors Co, was involved in a collision with a firetruck in San Francisco on Thursday night, resulting in injuries to the vehicle’s passenger.
Cruise reported the incident in a series of social media posts on Friday, stating that one of their autonomous cars was struck by the emergency vehicle while crossing an intersection on a green light. The accident took place in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, around 10pm. The passenger in the Cruise vehicle received treatment at the scene and was transported via ambulance for their non-severe injuries.
There are now concerns surrounding the incident, as it raises questions about why the autonomous vehicle did not stop for the emergency vehicle and why it failed to notice through traffic while crossing the intersection.
A video captured by a local ABC network showed that the emergency vehicle involved in the collision was a firetruck. As of the time of reporting, the San Francisco Fire Department had not responded to requests for comment regarding the incident.
Last week, California’s Public Utilities Commission voted to allow Cruise and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo to expand the areas where they can operate autonomous vehicles without a safety driver, and charge riders a fare for the service.
However, the city of San Francisco, led by City Attorney David Chiu, has requested a pause on this decision. In an 84-page motion submitted on Wednesday, the city argued that allowing Cruise and Waymo to expand without limitations on geographic area, service hours, and fleet size would cause significant harm to San Francisco. They claimed that the deployment and testing of Cruise’s driverless vehicles have disrupted first responder operations, public transit, street construction workers, and overall traffic flow.
Furthermore, recent posts on social media have showcased some unusual behavior exhibited by Cruise’s driverless vehicles. One video captured a car driving through a crosswalk while children were crossing, and another video showed a Cruise vehicle stopping in an intersection with other cars behind it.
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
