WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators said Friday they have opened a formal safety probe into the autonomous driving system in vehicles produced by General Motors’ (GM.N) robotaxi unit Cruise LLC.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it has received notices of incidents in which vehicles operated by Cruise “may engage in inappropriately hard braking or become immobilized.”
The agency said while both issues “appear to be distinct, they each result in the Cruise vehicles becoming unexpected roadway obstacles.” The safety agency’s preliminary evaluation covers 242 Cruise autonomous vehicles.
Last month, Cruise Chief Operating Officer Gil West told Reuters the company plans to enter a “large number of markets” and scale operations up to “thousands of vehicles” in 2023.
Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jason Neely
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