A Cruise self-driving car outside the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, in California, US. While neither of the incidents caused serious injuries, they serve as a reminder of the limitations of nascent self-driving technology and put pressure on Cruise to ensure its technology doesn’t become a nuisance or, worse, a safety hazard. — Reuters
General Motors Co-backed self-driving startup Cruise LLC is facing scrutiny from US regulators and its own board of directors after a pair of on-road incidents raised questions about how ready the company is to expand its services.
GM’s autonomous-vehicle unit scored a triumph last month when it beat Alphabet Inc’s Waymo to market with permission to charge for rides. The next day, there was an accident involving a Cruise car and a Toyota Prius that left two people with minor injuries. Later in June, as many as a dozen Cruise vehicles stopped at a single intersection due to a technical problem, blocking other motorists for more than an hour.
