GM’s robotaxi unit Cruise has agreed to pay $500,000 for filing false accident reports as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. The U.S. Department of Justice (Department of Justice) said Cruise was involved in a serious incident in October 2023, when one of its vehicles struck a pedestrian and dragged the pedestrian 20 feet after being hit by another vehicle. He said he had not disclosed important details about the accident.
“Federal laws and regulations are in place to protect public safety on our roads. Companies with self-driving vehicles that seek to share our roads and crosswalks must file a complaint with regulators. They must be completely truthful in their reporting,” said bureau chief Martha Bersch. Uber, the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division, has not yet commented on the matter.
Under the terms of the three-year settlement, Cruise must cooperate with the government, implement a safety compliance program and submit annual reports to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The company may still be subject to prosecution if it does not comply with these conditions. Cruz was previously fined $1.5 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reportedly reached a settlement worth at least $8 million with his victims.
A driverless Cruze vehicle operating in San Francisco struck a pedestrian who was struck by another human vehicle and thrown into its path, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Cruise vehicle initially stopped after hitting the pedestrian, but the system failed to detect that the pedestrian was still under the vehicle. The car then tried to pull over, dragging the woman more than 20 feet. Cruz’s report to NHTSA does not say anything about him dragging the victim after attacking him. (Cruise also omitted this information in a statement to the press at the time of the accident.)
Cruise subsequently had its self-driving car license revoked in California. The company has suspended all operations of both its driverless vehicles and manned robotaxi services as it undertakes a comprehensive safety review. CEO Kyle Vogt resigned in November, and GM announced plans to cut Cruise’s funding and reshuffle its leadership team based on an outside safety review. Nearly a quarter of the company’s workforce was cut in December.
The cruise vehicle remained off the road for several more months, but returned to Arizona in April and Houston in June under the supervision of a human driver. In September, Cruise resumed operations in California, with a human driver once again behind the wheel. In August, the company announced that its self-driving cars would be available for Uber starting next year.
