Cruise Self-Driving Cars Under Federal Investigation

Government receives reports about autonomous cars that suddenly braked for no apparent reason.

Cruise Self-Driving Cars Under Federal Investigation

Posted in Investigations

— Cruise self-driving vehicles are under federal investigation following incidents where the Cruise cars suddenly slammed on the brakes or stopped moving on the roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the investigation after receiving reports of possible problems with the automated driving systems.

NHTSA has received three reports the Cruise automated systems caused hard braking maneuvers in response to other vehicles that were quickly approaching from the rear.

In each case, the other vehicle struck the rear of the Cruise self-driving vehicle. Each incident involved a Cruise car that had a human onboard to supervise the trip.

NHTSA also received "multiple reports" of Cruise cars that were immobilized while in automated mode with no human supervisors onboard.

"When this occurs, the vehicle may strand vehicle passengers in unsafe locations, such as lanes of travel or intersections, and become an unexpected obstacle to other road users." — NHTSA

Safety regulators aren't sure how many Cruise vehicle immobilization incidents have occurred.

CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Cruise self-driving car investigation.

To learn more about autonomous system reporting, see Standing General Order 2021-01.