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By David Sheparson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors’ robotic taxi unit Cruise LLC is removing automated driving software from 300 vehicles after a driverless vehicle crashed into a bus in San Francisco on March 23.
The collision, which resulted in no injuries, was the fault of software on Cruise’s automated vehicle (AV) that incorrectly predicted the movement of a San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority articulated bus, Cruise said in a National Administration report. Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA). presentation made public on Friday.
Cruise said the self-driving software on all 300 vehicles was updated on March 25 to address concerns that the system “may incorrectly predict the movement of articulated vehicles such as buses and tractor-trailers.”
In a separate filing with California, Cruise said the autonomous vehicle was traveling down Haight Street when a bus pulled up in front of it.
“Shortly thereafter, the Cruise AV made contact with the rear bumper of the MUNI bus, damaging the Cruise AV’s front fascia and front fender,” Cruise said.
Cruise said the problem was that the bus moved in such a way that the rear section completely obstructed the front section of the bus and decelerated near the AV within seconds of the front section becoming obstructed.
Cruise said after the update that he determined the accident would not be repeated.
Cruise said in September that he had removed and updated software on 80 self-driving vehicles after a June crash in San Francisco that left two people injured.
NHTSA said last year that the software could “incorrectly predict” the path of an approaching vehicle.
In December, NHTSA opened a formal safety investigation into Cruise’s autonomous driving system after receiving reports of incidents in which Cruise autonomous vehicles “may brake inappropriately or stall.”
NHTSA has intensified scrutiny of advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicle systems. In 2021, he ordered all automakers and technology companies to immediately report accidents involving autonomous vehicles.
