San Francisco Robotaxis Are Unsafe, DMV Says, Revoking Cruise Permits

SAN FRANCISCO — California's DMV is suspending driverless testing permits for Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company whose robotaxis have been shuttling San Francisco passengers in recent months.

“When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

The DMV believes the vehicles are unsafe, that Cruise misrepresented the safety of its autonomous technology and that the robotaxis present an unreasonable risk to the public, according to the agency.

Cruise, under parent company General Motors, confirmed it would pause driverless operations in San Francisco.

The news comes after an Oct. 2 crash, in which a hit-and-run driver struck a pedestrian who was crossing a Market Street intersection against the light, throwing the victim into a Cruise vehicle named Panini, which dragged the person about 20 feet and pinned them under a tire. The person was extracted using the “jaws of life” and taken to a hospital.

“Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in an effort to save lives,” Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow said in a prepared statement, adding the company shared information about the crash with state and federal authorities and assisted police in the investigation. “Our teams are currently doing an analysis to identify potential enhancements to the AV’s response to this kind of extremely rare event.”

Cruise has significantly outperformed human ride-hail drivers in terms of safety over the course of its more than 5 million driverless miles, according to the company.

The permit suspension followed an announcement last week of a federal probe into Cruise’s driverless cars due to concerns about possible improper caution regarding pedestrians.

Police and fire officials have complained about autonomous vehicles impeding traffic in emergencies during a testing phase, and the state DMV in recent months asked Cruise to reduce its fleet after a driverless car hit an emergency vehicle.

While Cruise has been sidelined in San Francisco, another robotaxi operated by Waymo continues to give rides throughout the city. Cruise also is testing a robotaxi service in Los Angeles, where protests against it already have been percolating, as well as in Phoenix and Austin, Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.