Autonomous driving company Cruise and US regulators said today that the General Motors subsidiary had recalled software used on 80 vehicles after two people were injured in a June crash involving an autonomous Cruise car in San Francisco. The incident happened a day after the state of California granted Cruise a license to start a commercial driverless ride-hailing service in the state. The flawed software was updated in early July, Cruise said in a filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Agency.
The crash occurred when a Cruise vehicle attempting to make an unprotected left turn on a two-lane street was hit by a car traveling in the opposite direction and speeding in a lane. Cruise said in his NHTSA filing that his software had predicted the other car would turn right and determined that it was necessary to brake hard on his own vehicle in the middle of the left turn to avoid a head-on collision. But the other vehicle went straight across the intersection, boning the now-stationary Cruise car.
According to a report that Cruise filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles in June, at least one person in the speeding vehicle and one Cruise employee who was driving the autonomous vehicle have been treated for injuries. Cruise responded to the incident by tightening his robotic cars until their software was updated. The company reduced the area of San Francisco in which the vehicles operated and banned them from turning all the way to the left.
Cruise said in his NHTSA filing that the software update improves the predictions of his self-driving software, especially in situations like those that led to the crash. The company said it has determined that if the vehicle involved in the June 3 incident had used current software, no crash would have occurred.
The recall is only the second from the NHTSA to include fully self-driving software. In March, self-driving developer Pony.ai recalled three self-driving vehicles after it emerged that a software bug caused the system to shut down unexpectedly while the vehicles were in motion. The company said all affected vehicles have been repaired. With the increasing amount of software in vehicles, more vehicles can be recalled, even in human-driven cars, via wireless updates.
In a written statement regarding Cruise’s recall, NHTSA head Steven Cliff said the agency will continue to investigate accidents involving self-driving vehicles and “will ensure that vehicle manufacturers and developers prioritize the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.” Cruise met NHTSA officials multiple times to discuss the crash, according to the recall.
Cruise spokesman Hannah Lindow said in a written statement that the software issue has been resolved. “Cruise AVs are even better equipped to prevent this unique, exceptional event,” Lindow wrote. Currently, Cruise operates in 70 percent of the city between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., except during rain or fog. Interested riders must sign up to use the service. The robots can turn left again.
