Cruise cars can drive autonomously in San Francisco, but not in heavy rain.
The storm that passed over San Francisco on the night of March 21 was strong enough to knock out power and down trees.
It also disabled some self-driving cars that apparently shouldn’t have been in the storm in the first place.
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The cars involved were autonomous electric cruising vehicles. Cruise is a largely autonomous subsidiary of General Motors (GM) – Get a free report.
A neighborhood resident near an incident involving two of the cars took some photos and posted them on Twitter.
“More weather drama in my neighborhood. Two driverless cars missed 1) the caution tape blocking my street and 2) the downed @SFMTA_Muni wires,” @PopRag wrote. “Now they are entangled like flies in sticky traps.”
“DMV is aware of this incident and is in contact with Cruise LLC to better understand the circumstances,” a California Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson said. CNBC.
The spokesperson explained that companies applying for a driverless deployment or test permit must identify their intended operational area and the specific conditions under which the vehicle can operate autonomously.
“Cruise has permits to test and deploy autonomous vehicles in San Francisco during all hours of the day and night, except heavy rain,” the DMV said.said the spokesman.
Someone who runs Cruise’s Twitter account responded to @PopRag’s original tweet that used the photos.
“Given the damage from last night’s storms, some of our cars briefly entered areas with downed trees or power lines,” @cruise tweeted. “Some were able to proceed autonomously, but when necessary, we immediately dispatched teams to remove the vehicles.”
A company spokesperson said SFGATEthat Cruise’s vehicles do not “currently operate in snow, sleet, heavy rain, or fog.”
The Bay Area storm of March 21 was named a bomb cyclone. It was said to look “apocalyptic,” according to CBS Bay Area.
Autonomous vehicles have been the subject of some controversy recently. For example, the dawn projectposted an ad during the Super Bowl in February criticizing the safety of Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) – Get a free reportFully autonomous vehicles.
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