Self-Driving Chevy Bolt Rear-Ends Municipal Bus in San Francisco
A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt, operated by GM's Cruise robotaxi company, was recently involved in a minor accident in San Francisco.
The incident occurred when the autonomous vehicle rear-ended a municipal bus that was traveling in the right lane of the road.
Hey @Cruise come get your guy Souffle pic.twitter.com/n10NMQloVA
— bauer (@d_bau13) March 23, 2023
Several Twitter users, including @d_bau13 and @BrokeAssStewart (via @realpaintedladies_sf on Instagram), posted images of the crash. Based on the pictures, it appears that the San Francisco Muni bus suffered minor damage, while the electric Chevy Bolt sustained more significant harm.
More weather drama in my neighborhood. 2 driverless cars didnt detect 1) the caution tape blocking my street and 2) the down @SFMTA_Muni wires. Now theyre tangled up like flies in sticky traps. 🌧 🤷🏽♂️ 🌧 @SFGate @kron4news @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/cLdGjvorRE
— John-Phillip 🐳 (@PopRag) March 22, 2023
Cruise responded to one of the tweets by stating that no one was inside the robotaxi at the time of the incident, and there were no injuries reported.
They added that the damaged Chevy Bolt was removed from the scene. GM's self-driving company also issued a brief statement separately from the Twitter reply, confirming that they were investigating the incident and would take appropriate follow-up actions.
Just two days before this crash, two of Cruise's robotaxis were entangled in caution tape and downed wires after a recent storm in San Francisco, blocking traffic and creating an image of "flies in sticky traps," according to one Twitter user who posted photos of the incident.
Cruise claims that its autonomous taxis, which started operating in San Francisco in June 2022, have covered over 700,000 miles without human drivers. However, the company's vehicles have been involved in several incidents over time, with cars getting stuck on the road for no apparent reason on more than one occasion.
Although the cars were usually quickly freed by human operators, in one instance where a Cruise robotaxi collided with a Toyota Prius, people in both vehicles were injured, prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to formally open an investigation into how the company's autonomous taxis operate. However, no conclusion has been drawn yet.