GM's Cruise to pay $500,000 fine for submitting false report

SAN FRANCISCO, California: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Cruise, General Motors' self-driving unit, has admitted to submitting false information to federal regulators and agreed to pay a US$500,000 fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

The case centers on an October 2023 incident in San Francisco where a Cruise robotaxi struck and dragged a pedestrian after she was initially hit by another vehicle. While the robotaxi stopped after hitting the pedestrian, it attempted to pull over to the side of the road, dragging the woman 20 feet and leaving her seriously injured.

Cruise's report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) omitted the critical detail about the dragging.

"Companies with self-driving cars that seek to share our roads and crosswalks must be fully truthful in their reports to their regulators," said Martha Boersch, who heads the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco.

Under the three-year agreement, Cruise must cooperate with government investigations, implement a safety compliance program, and submit annual reports to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If Cruise fails to comply, prosecution could resume.

"Cruise will comply with the requirements set forth in the agreement, as we continue to move forward under new leadership and with a firm commitment to transparency with our regulators," said Cruise President Craig Glidden in a statement.

The fallout from the accident has led to significant changes at Cruise. The company's CEO and co-founder resigned, a quarter of the workforce was laid off, and nine executives, including the COO and chief legal officer, were dismissed. GM also settled with the injured pedestrian for at least $8 million.

In September, Cruise agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine related to another NHTSA investigation. The company is now required to submit a corrective action plan and adhere to enhanced reporting requirements for at least two years.

While Cruise has resumed supervised autonomous testing in three U.S. cities, the NHTSA investigation into its safety measures remains open. The company also faces an SEC inquiry and has abandoned its Origin vehicle, which lacked human controls. Starting next year, Cruise plans to integrate its autonomous vehicles into Uber's ride-hailing platform.