The recent decision to allow automated cars to serve as taxis for paying drivers 24 hours per day — a move that would affect independent contractor drivers — ran into difficulty. The California Department of Motor Vehicles asked one of the companies operating robotaxis in the city, Cruise, to reduce its automated fleet by 50% following a collision with an emergency vehicle. 

The department is conducting an investigation into the incident, it said in a statement emailed to SIA. 

“The DMV is in contact with Cruise and law enforcement officials to determine the facts and requested Cruise to immediately reduce its active fleet of operating vehicles by 50% until the investigation is complete and Cruise takes appropriate corrective actions to improve road safety,” according to the DMV statement. “Cruise has agreed to a 50% reduction and will have no more than 50 driverless vehicles in operation during the day and 150 driverless vehicles in operation at night.” 

Two collisions happened Aug. 17, according to SFist. One involved an emergency vehicle and injury to the occupant of the autonomous vehicle and another where a Cruise taxi was struck by another vehicle that allegedly ran a red light. 

“Over 100 people lose their lives every day on American roadways, and countless others are badly injured,” Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow said a statement to SIA. “We believe it’s clear that Cruise positively impacts overall road safety and look forward to working with the [California] DMV to make any improvements and provide any data they need to reinforce the safety and efficiency of our fleet.” 

Separately, in a press release, Cruise said it is investigating the incident involving an emergency vehicle and said there were several factors that added complexity to the incident. 

“The AV [autonomous vehicle] positively identified the emergency vehicle almost immediately as it came into view, which is consistent with our underlying safety design and expectation," according to the press release. “It is worth noting, however, that the confines of this specific intersection make visual identification more challenging — for humans and AVs alike — as it is significantly occluded by buildings, meaning that it is not possible to see objects around the corner until they are physically very close to the intersection.” 

In addition, the emergency vehicle was in the oncoming lane of traffic, Cruise said. The autonomous vehicle did detect the risk of collision and initiated a braking maneuver but was unable to avoid the crash. 

Cruise said it’s continuing to work in partnership with regulators and the city department. However, a request to pause the decision to allow robotaxis in the city was filed with the state Aug. 17 by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. It cited concerns over safety. 

For more on automating the driving task of independent contractors, see this Staffing Stream blog post.