About half a year after a severe accident involving one of their robotaxis, the company Cruise, a subsidiary of the US car manufacturer General Motors, is cautiously resuming operations of their vehicles.

Initially, however, the cars are to be driven solely by humans to collect current mapping data and information about the surroundings in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. More cities are to follow. The goal is to re-record traffic lights, lanes, and traffic management, among other things. In a second step, Cruise plans to carry out autonomous test drives with safety drivers in order to then decide in which cities the vehicles can drive fully autonomously again.

The Resumption of Operations Follows an Incident in Which an Autonomous Cruise Vehicle Dragged a Woman, Who Had Been Previously Hit by Another Vehicle, Several Meters.

This accident and the initially incomplete depiction of its circumstances led to a considerable loss of reputation for Cruise and the suspension of all rides on public roads. The company now emphasizes that safety has the highest priority upon restart and points out that the vehicles have continued to operate on a test site in recent months.

With its cautious re-entry into operations, Cruise underscores its ambition to continue leading developments in the field of autonomous vehicles while placing a greater emphasis on safety.