General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise has been in the news for the wrong reasons lately, as its robotaxi units have been creating roadblocks at inconvenient times. With these types of incidents in mind, the San Francisco Fire Chief is claiming that her city is not ready for a large-scale rollout of the self-driving service.
According to a report from The Detroit News, city officials around California are worried that robotaxi services such as Cruise and Waymo are expanding too quickly, and that local governments are unprepared to handle potential issues related to Cruise AV incidents. This comes as state regulators are preparing to grant Cruise a request to massively expand its service.
“They’re not ready for prime time,” San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson was quoted as saying. “I’m not against the technology. I understand it’s important and it’s the way the industry is going. But we need to fix what’s not working right now, before they are unleashed on the rest of the city. We have 160,000 calls a year. We don’t have the time to personally take care of a car that’s in the way when we’re on the way to an emergency.”
Notably, there is precedent to Nicholson’s worries. Back in May 2022, GM Authority reported that a Cruise AV unit was allegedly found blocking a firetruck that was attempting to respond to an emergency situation.
In response, a Cruise spokesperson stated that Cruise is “proud of our publicly reported safety record which includes driving millions of miles in an extremely complex urban environment. Interacting properly with emergency personnel is important to us, which is why we maintain an open line of communication with first responders to receive feedback and discuss specific incidents to improve our response.”
It’s worth noting that state regulators track robotaxi collisions, but not traffic flow issues like street blockages or interfering with firefighters and police officers.
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Comments
Where have I heard this before? They are a menace and should be outlawed on public roads. If you think they are necessary for some reason then use them in closed circuits like theme parks and airports.
Wow, if Crazyfornia doesn’t want them, they who does??
They wont do nothing about it, this technology is being rammed down our throats whether we like it or not, i can hear someone saying well its for the greater good and there will be hiccups. Can’t wait to see a redneck get a hold of one of these with his big ole truck n chain and drag that pos to the swamp. lol
That would be funny, considering they are covered in cameras and equipment to locate them precisely.
The concept is great, however, it seems to need more beta testing. AV’s would be great for elderly or handicapped people. Safety issues need to be resolved before going further.
But who will help the elderly or handicaped person when they reach their destination? Most people who are unable to drive themselves usually have to rely on another person to get in and out of the vehicle.
Most elderly are not totally disabled. Many just can’t drive due to failing vision or other impairments. If those that do need extra assistance could call ahead and have someone at the doctor’s office or clinic assist them upon arrival. They do this at a clinic that I use on occasion. AV’s would allow people that can’t drive the ability to expand their lives beyond their homes. It needs to be done safely though and I think the technology in the future will allow it to happen.
That person who “assists them” may not be from the clinic but someone looking to rob a vulnerable person.
Life is full of risks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Notice she doesn’t cite any specific instances where emergency vehicles have been blocked. The article cites one instance, but no details – the nature of the blocking, how long the delay, etc. I suppose other than autonomous vehicles, emergency vehicles are never blocked. Yeah, I don’t think so. Vehicle break down, vehicles even hit emergency vehicles. How many? How does that compare to Cruise?
She wants her 15 minutes of fame. She is the reason oversight of Cruise is at the state level, not left up to publicity hungry local officials who want their name in the media….
There are three ways to settle this. 1) Plow the pieces of crap out if the way if they are blocking an emergency vehicle; 2) i.pound the piece if crap and only release the vehicle when a Cruise representative explains why it happened; 3) have a nice fine of say $100,000 for every time one of these things conks out, and criminal liability if these blockages lead to death or injury of the distressed caller.
I’m sure Gm’s new democratic lobbyist they just hired is going to capitol hill to lobby for that sweetheart no liability clause big pharma got when they come out with the covid vaccine. So when it kills somebody directly or indirectly Gm cant be sued. Watch and wait, all in the name of safety or for the greater good.