Reliable Autonomous Vehicles: How Do We Get There?

On 10 August 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted to allow Cruise LLC to provide fared passenger services throughout San Francisco without a safety driver or time restrictions [1]. Ten years after the company was founded, Cruise seemed poised to spur the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry to turn the long-promised fleets of AVs into reality. Then, two major incidents occurred. On 19 August 2023, a Cruise vehicle collided with a San Francisco Fire Department truck that was responding to an emergency, injuring the rider inside the Cruise vehicle [2]. Two months later, a human-driven vehicle hit a pedestrian, knocking them into a Cruise AV’s path; the AV stopped near the pedestrian before restarting again, dragging her approximately 20 ft at low speed before parking on top of her leg [2]. Soon after, on 24 October 2023, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV) indefinitely suspended Cruise’s AV deployment and driverless testing permits, stating that “the Department determines the manufacturer’s vehicles are not safe for the public’s operation” [3].