Cruise's self-driving taxis suspended from operating on public roads in California due to safety concerns

The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday announced the immediate suspension of an autonomous car company's testing permits.

A press release from the DMV confirmed that Cruise will no longer be allowed to operate its self-driving taxis on public roads due to safety concerns. The decision does not impact the company's ability to test with a safety driver behind the wheel, CNBC reported.

"Public safety remains the California DMV's top priority, and the department's autonomous vehicle regulations provide a framework to facilitate the safe testing and deployment of this technology on California public roads. When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits. There is no set time for a suspension," the state's DMV said.

"The California DMV today notified Cruise that the department is suspending Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits, effective immediately," the department's statement continued. "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. This decision does not impact the company's permit for testing with a safety driver."

According to the DMV, Cruise's testing permits were suspended for over safety concerns. The department also accused the company of misrepresenting safety information regarding the autonomous technology used in its vehicles. It claimed that the self-driving taxis could pose "an unreasonable risk to the public," indicating there was an act of omission by the "manufacturer or one of its agents, employees, contractors, or designees."

Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, told Fox Business that it "will be pausing operations of our driverless AVs in San Francisco" as a result of the suspension.

California and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the company following an incident that resulted in pedestrian injuries.

"Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in an effort to save lives. In the incident being reviewed by the DMV, a human hit and run driver tragically struck and propelled the pedestrian into the path of the AV. The AV braked aggressively before impact and because it detected a collision, it attempted to pull over to avoid further safety issues," Cruise stated. "When the AV tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward. Our thoughts continue to be with the victim as we hope for a rapid and complete recovery."

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