GM’s autonomous vehicle division, Cruise, will resume autonomous vehicle testing in California this Fall with with up to five AVs. Cruise paused its California testing operations last year following an incident that resulted in an injured pedestrian. The AV tech company has since doubled down on its safety efforts as it continues to develop fully autonomous driving technology.
Cruise announced its new California testing plans in a post to X earlier today, stating that the AVs will be deployed “in Sunnyvale and Mountain View with the intent to progress to supervised testing with up to 5 AVs later this fall.”
“Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with California regulators and local stakeholders,” the post reads. “This will allow our local employees to engage directly with our product as they refine and improve our tech through R&D.”
The AV tech company previously resumed testing operations this past April in Arizona, roughly six months after pausing operations following an injury accident in San Francisco in 2023. In the accident that occurred last year, a pedestrian was struck by a human-driven vehicle and “launched” in front of an autonomous test vehicle. The pedestrian was trapped under the autonomous vehicle and dragged roughly 20 feet at approximately 7 mph, and first responders were forced to implement the jaws of life to free the injured pedestrian.
In response to the incident, the AV tech company implemented a massive company restructuring, laying off 24 percent of its workforce. Several top executives left as well, including company CEO Kyle Vogt. In addition, the company paid a series of fines and hired an independent third-party to investigate the incident. GM President Mark Reuss later remarked that regaining the public’s trust in AV technology could take years.
The AV tech company resumed testing with human safety drivers in three U.S. cities this past May. The company now aims to resume driverless rides by the end of the year, and charge fares as early as 2025. Ride hailing giant Uber is also set to bring the company’s AVs to its platform next year.
Comments
Hopefully my state outlaws these menaces.
These “menaces” are far safer than human drivers. Proliferation of GM AV vehicles will save lives.
Yes, they really proven it with the woman they ran over and killed last year 🙄