NHTSA Announces Consent Order with Cruise After Company Failed to Fully Report Crash Involving Pedestrian

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today has announced a consent order with Cruise, which is majority-owned by General Motors. The action addresses several incomplete reports by the company under NHTSA’s Standing General Order for crashes involving automated driving systems. Two of these reports failed to disclose the post-crash details of an Oct. 2, 2023, crash in which a Cruise vehicle equipped with an ADS and operating without a driver dragged a pedestrian approximately 20 feet before coming to a complete stop. 

The consent order includes both monetary and non-monetary provisions designed to improve Cruise’s compliance with the law and to increase oversight of the company’s safety practices. NHTSA’s Standing General Order requires crash reports within specified timeframes based on the severity of a crash. The crash reports must include pre-crash, crash, and post-crash details. NHTSA discovered Cruise had omitted details from its crash reports after viewing video it requested from Cruise of the Oct. 2 incident. Cruise has also amended four other Standing General Order reports to provide additional detail on other crashes. 

“It is vitally important for companies developing automated driving systems to prioritize safety and transparency from the start,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said. “NHTSA is using its enforcement authority to ensure operators and manufacturers comply with all legal obligations and work to protect all road users.” 

The base term of the order is two years, with NHTSA reserving the option to extend the order for a third year. As part of the order, Cruise will pay a total monetary penalty of $1.5 million and is required to submit to NHTSA a corrective action plan on how it will improve its compliance with the Standing General Order. 

Requirements to enhance NHTSA’s oversight include reporting of information regarding the scope of Cruise’s operations, including the vehicle miles traveled during the reporting period, the number of Cruise vehicles operating, and whether or not those vehicles are operating without a driver. Cruise will also be required to summarize software updates expected to affect ADS operations as well as to submit reporting on actual citations and observed violations of traffic laws. Additionally, the company will report on its framework to assess the safety of its operations, including benchmarks and metrics used to measure the safety performance of the ADS. 

Cruise and NHTSA will meet quarterly to discuss the state of operations, as well as to review the periodic reporting and progress on the requirements of the consent order. Additionally, Cruise will submit a final report overviewing its compliance with the consent order and state of operations 90 days before the end of the base term. 

This consent order does not affect any other NHTSA actions relating to Cruise, including Preliminary Evaluation 23-018, which remains open.