Cruise recalls 300 driverless cars after San Francisco bus crash

Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors that develops autonomous vehicles, has announced a voluntary recall of its driverless cars to fix a software glitch that caused a collision with a bus in San Francisco last month.

The recall affects about 300 Cruise vehicles that operate as self-driving taxis in the city. The company said it will update the software of its autonomous driving system (ADS) to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The recall was prompted by a crash that occurred on 23 March 2023, when a Cruise vehicle collided with an articulated MUNI bus on Market Street. No one was injured in the accident, but both vehicles sustained minor damage.

According to the recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the crash happened because the Cruise vehicle's ADS misjudged the movement of the bus in "certain rare circumstances".

The documents explained that the ADS could inaccurately predict the movement of articulated vehicles (buses, tractors, or trailers) in three situations.

In such a circumstance, the ADS could inaccurately determine that the obstructed front section of the vehicle was continuing to move forward and that the rear section of the vehicle would continue to move forward with the front section, even if the vehicle was decelerating.

The company said it has identified and corrected the software issue and will install the updated software on all affected vehicles. It also said it has notified NHTSA and other relevant authorities of the recall and will cooperate with any investigations.

Cruise is one of the leading companies in developing and testing autonomous vehicles in urban environments. It has been operating its driverless taxis in San Francisco since late 2022.