What Roadblocks Stand In The Way Of GM’s Self-Driving Cars Operating Across USA?

What’s the one thing that most futuristic movies have in common?

Autonomous vehicles!

Yes, it’s not just a dream to build completely self-driving cars anymore!

We’re sure you’re aware of Cruise, Waymo, Tesla and other automobile makers who are driving toward this dream already. #PunIntended

General Motors, the maker of Cruise, for one, filed a petition in February 2022 seeking permission to build and deploy 2500 self-driving vehicles across US roads annually. Reportedly, the reason for that number is that under current law companies can be exempt from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for two years.

According to a blog post, this exemption can be given by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and they’re gearing up to make a decision on the petition in the coming weeks.

In the same release, Ann Carlson, the acting Administrator of the NHTSA wrote, “The central issue is deciding whether vehicles that are driven not by humans but by computers need to comply with safety standards that are fundamentally about human drivers: requirements for mirrors, sun visors, windshield wipers and so forth.”

In essence, this decision could affect other aspiring autonomous vehicle companies too.
 
GM’s Cruise did not comment (at the time of writing).

GM’s petitioned self-driving vehicle, Cruise Origin, doesn’t have human controls, i.e., no steering wheels, mirrors, turn signals or windshield wipers and doors that open like those on subway cars.

Interestingly, in 2018 GM was seeking approval to launch cars without steering wheels or brake pedals on US roads but withdrew its petition in 2020 as the agency took no action.
 
However, things might be different this time around!

Especially considering Cruise’s success in San Francisco with its autonomous robotaxis!

The cherry on top? Its cars began operating 24/7 in the city recently!

This announcement came courtesy of a series of tweets by the CEO and Founder of Cruise, Kyle Vogt, which read, “Well folks, we did it. I have been waiting for this day for almost 10 years. I am proud to announce Cruise is now running 24/7 across all of San Francisco! This is a pivotal moment for our business.”

Vogt added, “Operating robotaxis in SF has become a litmus test for business viability. If it can work here, there’s little doubt it can work just about everywhere."

This means that its cars could soon be plying across more cities in addition to San Francisco (California), Austin (Texas) and Phoenix (Arizona) where it already provides its services.
 
Cruise’s vehicles are all-electric Chevrolet Bolt cars that are fitted with driverless technology and its Origin model sports the same technology. Although, the service is available to employees of the company (Cruisers) and select users who provide regular feedback (power users) at any time. Power users though have limited area coverage for thr rides.
 
Speaking about general safety improvements in a blog post, the company’s VP of Safety & Systems, Louise Zhang said Cruise’s cars have had 54% fewer collisions overall and 92% fewer collisions as the primary contributor. Furthermore, the site even says, “In our first million driverless miles, Cruise performance resulted in fewer collisions when compared to human drivers.”

Will GM’s petition for deploying driverless cars be approved? Would you use a driverless service in your city? Let us know in the comments below!