General Motors' autonomous vehicle unit Cruise is about to face fines and sanctions after failing to disclose the details of the October 2 incident wherein a pedestrian was dragged by 20 feet.
California Agency Orders Cruise's Hearing Appearance
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued an order for Cruise to appear on February 6, 2024, for an evidentiary hearing. The company will be allowed to explain why Cruise should not be fined or penalized after failing to provide the requested details.
According to the CPUC, Cruise provided the order of events but allegedly failed to detail what came next. The ruling showed that the Cruise AV tried to pullover maneuver while the pedestrian was stuck under the vehicle, thus resulting in dragging the victim.
In addition, the filing stated that the company is being called for making misleading public comments about its interactions with the Commission. Cruise took 15 days before it provided the agency with the full video of the incident.
GM Remains Focused on Correcting Cruise's Mistakes
During a media event, GM CEO Mary Barra shared that the company is "very focused on righting the ship" about the current issues of its self-driving unit. Moreover, she revealed that an external safety review is currently ongoing as part of the company's effort to move forward in 2024.
"We'll work through the challenges we have right now at Cruise," the CEO added. Meanwhile, Barra declined to disclose how much money the company is willing to spend on Cruise for it to complete the assessments and move ahead.
While the ruling did not detail the specific penalty that awaits Cruise, the agency can fine a public utility between $500 and $100,000 per day of violation, on top of other penalties. This means that the companies might be facing a maximum of $2.25 million in fines.
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