GM’s Cruise could face $1.5 million in fines for misleading regulators on pedestrian accident

General Motors’ (GM) self-driving robotaxi unit, Cruise could face $1.5 million in fines as well as charges for its failure to share details of the accident in October as the vehicle dragged a pedestrian up to 20 feet at 7mph.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Friday ordered Cruise to appear at a February 6 hearing for “Misleading the Commission through omission regarding the extent and seriousness of the accident”.

The hearing will subjected to “making misleading public comments regarding its interactions with the commission”.

Following the incident, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles revoked Cruise’s permit for operations with immediate effect.

DMV notified that Cruise’s cars were “not safe for the public operations and pose an unreasonable risk to the public”. This led to a nationwide pause in Cruise’s autonomous taxis in the US.

GM has been under constant pressure from regulators over the incident and the company is continuously receiving the incident.

Cruise Robotaxi, Image Source – Cruise

Regarding this, CM’s Chief Executive Marry Barra said that the external review of the Cruise’s safety would last up to the first quarter of 2024.

Barra also mentioned that the Cruise team is interacting with the regulators to find out more about the incident in San Francisco.

Judge Robert Mason said that the company should appear and argue “why Cruise should not be fined, penalized, and/or receive other regulator sanctions for failing to provide complete information to the [California Public Utilities] Commission”. The carmaker could face $100,000 or more if it fails to put a strong argument.

According to the information, Cruise has been ordered to provide a written response to the ruling by December 18 and attend the hearing on February 6, 2024.