GM’s Cruise to relaunch vehicles with human drivers in Phoenix

General Motors’ Cruise self-driving vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roadways for the first time since October, beginning with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, the company said Tuesday.

The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.

A third-party probe, which was ordered by GM and Cruise, found culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership were at the center of regulatory oversights that led to the accident. The probe also investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise leadership, but did not find any evidence to support those claims.

As of late January, Cruise was being investigated by several entities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“In October 2023, we paused operations of our fleet to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and to redesign our approach to safety,” Cruise said in a blog post. “We’ve made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate. We are committed to this improvement as a continuous effort.”

Cruise on Tuesday said its “goal is to resume driverless operations,” however it did not provide a timeline for doing so.

The company called the relaunched fleet with human drivers “a critical step for validating our self-driving systems as we work towards returning to our driverless mission.”

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