GM’s Cruise fined $1.5 million for omitting information about its 2023 fatal accident

On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fined Cruise, GM’s self-driving car division, $1.5 million. The penalty was imposed for omitting important details of an October 2023 accident in which one of the private company’s vehicles hit and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco.

Cruise is fined for submitting a few incomplete reports. NHTSA reports require pre-crash, crash and post-crash information, which the company provided to the agency except for critical information: that a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a vehicle at 7 MPH, causing serious injury. Finally, the company released a 100-page report from a law firm detailing its failures in the accident.

That report says Cruise executives first played video of the crash during Oct. 3 meetings with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, NHTSA, DMV and other officials. However, the video broadcast was “interrupted by internet connection problems” which obscured the part where the car dragged the victim. The management, who the report says were aware of the drag, also failed to mention those important details in the first meetings because they wanted to let “the video speak for itself.”

Investigators finally found out about the towing after NHTSA asked the company to submit the complete video. The federal agency says Cruise has also amended four other incomplete crash reports involving its vehicles to add more information.

NHTSA’s new requirements for Cruise include submitting a corrective action plan, as well as other requirements including the total number of vehicles, miles traveled and whether they were operated without a driver. It should also summarize software updates that affect performance, report excerpts and identify traffic violations and inform the agency how to improve safety. Finally, Cruise will have to meet with NHTSA on a quarterly basis to discuss the status of its operations while updating its reports and compliance.

The order lasts at least two years, and NHTSA can extend it for a third year. Reuters reported Monday that, despite the fine, the NHTSA’s investigation into whether Cruise is taking adequate safety precautions to protect pedestrians remains open. Cruise remains under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To say the incident caused a stir at Cruise would be an understatement. The company suspended its self-driving operations after the accident. Then last November, the dominoes began to fall: Its CEO resigned, and GM said it would reduce its investment in Cruise by “hundreds of millions of dollars” and restructure its leadership. Nine other officials were fired in December.

Still, Cruise is trying to bounce back under its new leadership. Self-driving cars returned to Arizona and Houston this year, and GM said it is pouring an additional $850 million into them. Earlier this month, it went live in California again, and with drivers — which, it’s safe to say, is a good thing.