According to media reports, California regulators recently announced that General Motors' autonomous driving subsidiary, Cruise, might face the maximum fine for failing to promptly provide complete information about an autonomous vehicle accident that occurred last year.
Autonomous driving companies like Cruise, Alphabet's Waymo, and Amazon's Zoox have been under strict scrutiny by regulatory agencies due to multiple collision incidents involving their vehicles.
Regulators stated that Cruise will be required to pay the maximum fine stipulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), totaling $112,500. This fine represents a daily penalty of $7,500 for the 15 days during which Cruise withheld information about the incident. Cruise did not immediately respond to requests for comment from foreign media.
Cruise will also need to provide the CPUC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with a "collision report" on the California accident.
On October 2nd of last year, in San Francisco, a pedestrian was hit by another car and subsequently struck by Cruise's autonomous taxi. Following the incident, Cruise's operational permit in California was suspended, and the NHTSA issued a recall order for its vehicles.
The CPUC stated that Cruise has resumed operations with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, Arizona, since April of this year, but Cruise is not using its autonomous vehicles to provide passenger services.
