GM’s Cruise is pausing driverless operations across the US after California regulators suspended the company’s operations over safety concerns.

Cruise suffered a major setback when California regulators deemed the company’s self-driving tech was not safe, even going so far as to accuse the company of misrepresenting its capabilities. A Cruise driverless vehicle was involved in an accident in which it ran over a pedestrian that had already been hit by another vehicle in a hit-and-run incident. While the Cruise vehicle was not responsible for the initial accident, it did not take the necessary action to recognize and avoid hitting the already-struck pedestrian.

In the wake of California’s decision, Cruise says it is pausing driverless operations across the country “to rebuild public trust.” The company announced the news on X:

(1/3) The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust. Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and at how we do work at Cruise, even if it means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult.

(2/3) In that spirit, we have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust.

(3/3) This isn’t related to any new on-road incidents, and supervised AV operations will continue.

We think it’s the right thing to do during a period when we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to risk, relentlessly focused on safety, & taking steps to rebuild public trust.

Cruise (@cruise) — October 26, 2023