GM Cruise Self-Driving Vehicle Finds Itself In A Sticky Situation — Gets Transfixed In Concrete

A self-driving Cruise vehicle reportedly got itself into a fix when it got stuck in freshly poured concrete in San Francisco less than a week after California’s decision to extend driverless robotaxi operations around the clock.

What Happened: A Cruise vehicle got stuck in wet concrete at a construction site on Golden Gate Avenue between Fillmore and Steiner Streets, reported SFGATE, citing a resident.

Cruise workers removed the vehicle from the concrete and recovered it, the report said. It had no passengers within.

Why It Matters: The California Public Utilities Commission recently granted Alphabet Inc‘s GOOG GOOGL Waymo and General Motor‘s GM 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 raised concerns about potential disruptions and unpredictable driving behaviors, the commission remained steadfast in its support for autonomous vehicles.

Just a day after the permit, on Friday night, ten Cruise vehicles brought traffic on Vallejo Street in California to a halt for about 15 minutes. Cruise attributed the blockade to an issue with cellphone carriers, leaving remote assistance advisors unable to guide the vehicles.

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