Photo: @PopRag via Twitter
Cruise robotaxi again went into the spotlight after a storm downed trees and utility wires in San Francisco. The autonomous cars failed to notice the yellow tape isolating the affected streets and got entangled in the cables.
About five years ago, many people thought autonomous vehicles would roam the streets and replace the humans behind the wheels. Despite promising technologies making “progress,” we still have nothing close to autonomous driving. Sure, many companies boast about their self-driving technologies just around the corner. Still, they can’t assume responsibility for their decisions, hence they’re still at SAE Level 2.
Robotaxi companies also claim progress, probably to justify burning billions of dollars. Their cars operate without a driver behind the wheel, although remotely supervised. These autonomous vehicles pass as Level 4 because they drive in geofenced areas. Even so, they often cause more problems than they solve. This became obvious on Tuesday night after a storm hit San Francisco, and downed trees and utility wires blocked the streets.
Witnesses report that Cruise autonomous vehicles stalled out in several areas of San Francisco after encountering downed trees and wires. The cars were so dumb they couldn’t detect caution yellow tape installed to isolate the affected streets. Then they became entangled in the cables and could not move further, blocking the areas.
John-Phillip Bettencourt, who saw this happening on his street, shared pictures of the stalled vehicles on Twitter. He told CNBC that large trees fell around 1:45 p.m. on March 22 onto lines that power the city’s buses, pulling them down. In response, SF Fire Department blocked off the affected streets with caution tape. By evening, two Cruise robotaxis were stuck in the area. Bettencourt confirmed that the cars did not appear to detect and avoid the caution tape and bus wires, becoming entangled in them.
Cruise’s official account replied to Bettencourt’s story, saying that some of their cars “briefly” entered areas with downed trees or power lines. Although some were able to proceed autonomously, others needed human help. Cruise said it dispatched teams to remove the vehicles where necessary, although the “briefly” part doesn’t describe the situation accurately. The good part is that the AVs were not transporting passengers at the time, so no harm was done.
Cruise has a long history of street-blocking events and stopping in the middle of the street for no reason. Last year, Cruise was investigated by the NHTSA after its cars braked hard and were hit from behind by other vehicles. In other cases, the cars swarmed and stopped working simultaneously, blocking the streets for hours.
Cruise has recently filed an application with the California DMV to extend the operating area statewide. The latest event might not be the best PR material when convincing the agency. According to CNBC, the DMV is discussing with Cruise to understand the circumstances that caused the incident.
Robotaxi companies also claim progress, probably to justify burning billions of dollars. Their cars operate without a driver behind the wheel, although remotely supervised. These autonomous vehicles pass as Level 4 because they drive in geofenced areas. Even so, they often cause more problems than they solve. This became obvious on Tuesday night after a storm hit San Francisco, and downed trees and utility wires blocked the streets.
Witnesses report that Cruise autonomous vehicles stalled out in several areas of San Francisco after encountering downed trees and wires. The cars were so dumb they couldn’t detect caution yellow tape installed to isolate the affected streets. Then they became entangled in the cables and could not move further, blocking the areas.
John-Phillip Bettencourt, who saw this happening on his street, shared pictures of the stalled vehicles on Twitter. He told CNBC that large trees fell around 1:45 p.m. on March 22 onto lines that power the city’s buses, pulling them down. In response, SF Fire Department blocked off the affected streets with caution tape. By evening, two Cruise robotaxis were stuck in the area. Bettencourt confirmed that the cars did not appear to detect and avoid the caution tape and bus wires, becoming entangled in them.
Cruise’s official account replied to Bettencourt’s story, saying that some of their cars “briefly” entered areas with downed trees or power lines. Although some were able to proceed autonomously, others needed human help. Cruise said it dispatched teams to remove the vehicles where necessary, although the “briefly” part doesn’t describe the situation accurately. The good part is that the AVs were not transporting passengers at the time, so no harm was done.
Cruise has a long history of street-blocking events and stopping in the middle of the street for no reason. Last year, Cruise was investigated by the NHTSA after its cars braked hard and were hit from behind by other vehicles. In other cases, the cars swarmed and stopped working simultaneously, blocking the streets for hours.
Cruise has recently filed an application with the California DMV to extend the operating area statewide. The latest event might not be the best PR material when convincing the agency. According to CNBC, the DMV is discussing with Cruise to understand the circumstances that caused the incident.
Given the damage caused by last night’s storms, some of our cars briefly entered areas with downed trees or power lines. Some were able to proceed autonomously, but where needed we immediately dispatched teams to remove the vehicles.
— cruise (@Cruise) March 22, 2023
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