Robotaxi failed to yield to firefighters, causing collision

(Patria) - GM-owned robotaxi company Cruise has agreed to meet the demands of California regulators and halve its fleet in San Francisco after two of its driverless cars were involved in collisions last week.

The decision also comes just over a week after Cruise received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to operate throughout the city at all hours of the day.

A fire truck was involved in one of last week's accidents, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) confirmed to Reuters.

According to the report, the vehicle had its lights and sirens on and was entering an intersection in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood when it collided with a Cruise robotaxi, which had entered the intersection on a green light.

As is known, emergency vehicles have the right of way in such situations, which the robotaxi failed to recognize.

According to Cruise, a passenger in the vehicle sustained 'minor injuries'.

The company announced it would investigate the incident, stating that the robotaxi recognized and heard the siren, identified the vehicle, and braked to reduce speed, but could not avoid the collision.

"Cruise's vehicle could not determine the fire truck's path of travel because the vehicle changed lanes to go through a red light," Cruise said.

Another driverless robotaxi was involved in a separate incident on the same day, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has ordered Cruise to 'immediately reduce its active fleet of operating vehicles by 50 percent' while it investigates the accidents, according to Bloomberg.

The DMV also stated that the reduction remains in effect until Cruise 'takes appropriate corrective actions to improve road safety'.

Self-driving Cruise Robotaxi with a passenger makes a left turn and cuts in front of an SFFD Firetruck in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood on Thursday, 08/17. @kron4news @abc7newsbayarea @KTVU @kpixtv @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/t9DEQMPP4B

— Matyas Tamas (@matyast80) August 18, 2023

The company is now permitted to operate 50 driverless cars during the day and 150 at night in San Francisco.

"We look forward to working with the DMV to make any improvements and provide all the data they need to enhance the safety and efficiency of our fleet," a Cruise spokesperson told Quartz.

San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson warned California authorities against expanding the use of driverless vehicles in the city.

At a hearing on August 7, she cited 55 instances where robotaxis had interfered with the fire department's operations.

"The biggest concern is that someone will be seriously injured or killed because we cannot respond properly to an incident.

Robotaxi companies need to sit down with their engineers, as well as politicians, and cooperate with us so that something catastrophic does not happen," Nicholson told ABC7 News in June.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into Cruise in December following multiple reports of driving malfunctions.

The two accidents occurred a week after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave Cruise and its competitor Waymo the green light to operate in San Francisco at all hours of the day.

It was a controversial decision that was strongly opposed by some public officials and residents, and followed seven hours of public debate.

Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, told the San Francisco Chronicle earlier in August that more local agencies plan to challenge the CPUC's decision, reports tportal.hr.

"This is just the beginning. It's time for Governor Newsom to analyze public safety before someone gets killed," Peskin asserted.