The start-up Pony.ai loses its test license in California due to an accident.
The Chinese start-up Pony.ai loses in the US state California his license for testing autonomous driving on public roads. The reason for this is an accident caused by a company vehicle.
It is the first license loss a California company has suffered. The start-up’s vehicle caused the accident at the end of October, in which no other vehicle was involved. Even more: there was no interference from rain or poor visibility. Nevertheless, the car, a Hyundai Kona, hit a traffic island when changing lanes and demolished a traffic sign.
The revoked license allows testing without security personnel in the car. Currently only the companies: Apollo (Baidu), Autox, Cruise Automation, Nuro, Waymo, WeRide and Zoox. With such a person behind the wheel, Pony.ai can continue to test the vehicle technology. The company is also allowed to continue testing in China and offering a robot taxi service in the metropolis of Beijing.