Over the last few weeks, a driverless ride-hailing service is testing out vehicles on Dallas streets.The company has been conducting supervised testing, which means a safety driver is behind the wheel while the AV drives autonomously, throughout Oak Lawn, Uptown, Downtown, Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville neighborhoods since early September.
The investigation is to determine whether Cruise automated driving systems “exercised appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway,” a filing on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website The probe was prompted by two reports involving pedestrian injuries and Cruise vehicles in recent months. The agency also cited two other incidents it identified through “videos posted to public websites,” according to the filing.
The company told KXAN it was caused by several cruise cars getting calls in one area and when one car got stuck, it caused a domino effect. However, in a previous update last week regarding its final phase of testing in Dallas, a spokesperson said the company’s mission “has always been to make city transportation accessible, reliable, safe and delightful and we're excited that we'll be able to bring our service to Dallas and the surrounding communities soon.