Ten Cruise autonomous vehicles brought traffic on Vallejo Street in California to a halt, creating a roadblock that inconvenienced human drivers. This occurrence took place on a Friday night, shortly after California’s decision to extend driverless robotaxi operations around the clock.
What Happened: During this incident, the vehicles remained unresponsive for roughly 15 minutes before eventually resuming their movement and alleviating the traffic congestion, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
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Cruise, General Motors‘ GM self-driving unit, attributed the disruption to issues with cellphone carriers. Lauren Wilson, the government affairs manager at Cruise, indicated that the disruption may have been related to the impact of a music festival, Outside Lands, on LTE cell connectivity and the ability of remote assistance advisors to guide the vehicles.
Why It Matters: The California Public Utilities Commission recently granted Alphabet Inc‘s GOOG GOOGL Waymo and Cruise permission to operate autonomous vehicles with paying passengers throughout the day, along with expanding their robotaxi fleets.
Despite opposition from various quarters, including law enforcement and fire departments, as well as local residents, who have raised concerns about potential disruptions and unpredictable driving behaviors, the commission remains steadfast in its support for autonomous vehicles. Commissioner John Reynolds emphasized his belief in the technology’s potential to enhance road safety.
City officials are actively pursuing avenues to reverse the permit approval, with Aaron Peskin, representing North Beach on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, leading this effort.
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