General Motors' Cruise Fined for Delayed Accident Report

TapTechNews June 23rd news, the self-driving car company Cruise under General Motors was fined the maximum amount by California regulators for delaying to report certain key details of an accident involving self-driving taxis.

Last October, a Cruise self-driving taxi collided with a pedestrian, dragging and pinning him down. Weeks after the accident, the California regulatory agency revoked Cruise's operating license for driverless cars, and reported that Cruise 'distorted' and 'concealed' certain key details in the accident report to the regulatory agency.

According to AutomotiveNews, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) officially ordered Cruise to pay the maximum fine of 112,500 US dollars (TapTechNews note: currently about 819,000 yuan).

Cruise said in a statement: 'We are pleased to reach a settlement with the CPUC. In the past few months, we have taken important measures to improve our leadership, processes and corporate culture.'

Because Cruise delayed reporting key details to the regulatory agency by 15 days, this fine is equivalent to 7,500 US dollars per day, and the company is now also required to regularly submit 'collision reports' to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Last month, Cruise resumed supervised self-driving taxi testing in Phoenix, Arizona, which was the first time the company has conducted any form of testing since the accident occurred last October.

General Motors has cut its spending on Cruise by half this year, but the company has been focused on restarting its self-driving car program. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to investors earlier this year: 'At Cruise, we are committed to earning the trust of regulators and the public through our commitments and actions.'