Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by General Motors (GM), has decided to suspend its driverless operations nationwide in response to safety concerns raised by regulators in California. The move comes just days after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked Cruise's license, citing potential risks to public safety posed by its driverless cars.

The DMV had recently granted Cruise permission to transport passengers in San Francisco, but after reviewing safety information, it determined that the autonomous technology in Cruise vehicles had been misrepresented. This led to the revocation of Cruise's license and an indefinite suspension of its human-supervised operations in California.

In addition to the California DMV's actions, Cruise is also under investigation by U.S. regulators following reports of potential risks to pedestrians and passengers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into incidents where Cruise vehicles may not have exercised proper caution around pedestrians, including in crosswalks. The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation has received reports of pedestrian injuries involving Cruise vehicles, as well as incidents of abrupt braking that resulted in rear-end collisions.

Cruise has chosen to proactively pause its driverless services across all of its fleets in order to examine its processes, systems, and tools to ensure public trust. While the decision to suspend driverless operations is not based on any new on-road incidents, the company is committed to investigating and improving its response to rare events like accidents involving its robotaxis.

General Motors, which has high expectations for Cruise, has been significantly impacted by these recent developments. The automaker had anticipated annual revenue of $1 billion from Cruise by 2025, but this goal is now uncertain. Cruise had been conducting tests of its robotaxi service in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas.

The suspension of driverless operations by Cruise raises questions about the future of autonomous vehicles as a whole. Experts in the field, such as University of South Carolina law professor Bryant Walker Smith, suggest that this incident could have broader implications for the industry, potentially fueling concerns that automated vehicles are struggling and failing. However, it remains to be seen what specific actions Cruise will take in response to the safety concerns and whether the company will be able to regain public trust in its driverless technology.

It is crucial for companies like Cruise to address these concerns transparently and effectively. As Walker Smith emphasizes, trust is paramount when deploying automated vehicles on public roads. The future of Cruise's driverless operations will likely depend on the additional information that emerges from ongoing investigations, as well as the actions taken by the company to address the issues raised.