US probes GM's Cruise robocars over pedestrian close calls

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Cruise, is facing multiple federal investigations over its cars' safety, including two incidents where the robot cars appeared not to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, according to a U.S. regulator's letter released on Friday.

Cruise autonomous cars «may not be exercising appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway,» according to the letter dated Oct. 20 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. «This vehicle behavior could increase the risk of a collision with a pedestrian which in turn may result in injury or death.»

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NHTSA previously made public another Oct. 20 letter in which it raised concerns over several hard-braking incidents by Cruise vehicles that resulted in collisions.

Safety officials cited two videos where Cruise vehicles came close to pedestrians in crosswalks and appeared to nearly strike them. In one, the vehicle is observed steering toward a pedestrian walking a dog, before braking, causing the pedestrian to pause and pull back on the leash. In the other, the car appears to narrowly avoid striking four pedestrians in a crosswalk, including two small children, before it continues down the street.

Asked about the videos, Cruise said on Friday the vehicles were tracking all pedestrians in both cases and that it has «made improvements as part of our process of continuously enhancing our technology to give pedestrians more space around our vehicles.»

The company said of NHTSA's