Cruise suspends driverless vehicle operations in San Francisco after DMV revokes permit

The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise’s permit to operate its self-driving vehicles, effective immediately. 

The agency cited “an unreasonable risk to public safety” and said there is “no set time” for the suspension’s duration. “The DMV has provided Cruise with the steps needed to apply to reinstate its suspended permits, which the DMV will not approve until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction,” the agency said in a release. Cruise, acquired by General Motors in 2016, is still able to operate its autonomous vehicles with a safety driver behind the wheel.

The DMV cited four policies in announcing the suspension, including one that says “the manufacturer has misrepresented any information related to safety of the autonomous technology of its vehicles.” 

The suspension followed a hit-and-run incident earlier this month where a human driver knocked a pedestrian into the AV’s path. (The pedestrian sustained injuries and was hospitalized shortly thereafter.) “The AV braked aggressively before impact and because it detected a collision, it attempted to pull over to avoid further safety issues,” a Cruise spokesperson tells Fast Company. “When the AV tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward.”

Driverless cars have become a common site in San Francisco, with the vehicles jetting around the infamous foggy and hilly roads. The vehicles have caused mixed reactions in the tech-centric city. The company also deploys self-driving cars in Austin and Phoenix. 

Both Cruise and its competitor Waymo received approval to conduct commercial autonomous vehicles services at all hours in San Francisco in August. Cruise agreed just days later to cut its fleet in the city by half while the DMV investigated recent crashes involving its self-driving cars.