GM’s Cruise agrees to pay $1.5M fine as part of NHTSA consent order over crash reporting

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Monday a consent order with General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) subsidiary Cruise. The government agency said the action addresses several incomplete reports by the Detroit automaker under NHTSA’s Standing General Order for crashes involving automated driving systems. Per the NHTSA, the Cruise reports failed to disclose the post-crash details of an October 2, 2023, crash in which a Cruise vehicle equipped with an ADS and operating without a driver dragged a pedestrian approximately 20 feet before coming to a complete stop.

The consent order includes both monetary and non-monetary provisions designed to improve Cruise’s compliance with the law and to increase oversight of the company’s safety practices. “It is vitally important for companies developing automated driving systems to prioritize safety and transparency from the start,” stated NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman. “NHTSA is using its enforcement authority to ensure operators and manufacturers comply with all legal obligations and work to protect all road users,” added Shulman.

The base term of the order is two years, with NHTSA reserving the option to extend the order for a third year. As part of the order, Cruise will pay a total monetary penalty of $1.5 million and is required to submit to NHTSA a corrective action plan on how it will improve its compliance with the Standing General Order. Cruise and NHTSA will meet quarterly to discuss the state of operations, as well as to review the periodic reporting and progress on the requirements of the consent order. Additionally, Cruise will submit a final report overviewing its compliance with the consent order and state of operations 90 days before the end of the base term.

Looking ahead, Cruise is taking steps to restart its operations. The company has begun manual driving in the San Francisco Bay Area to collect data. Cruise is also expanding to new cities, including Houston, where it plans to transition from manual driving to supervised autonomous driving with safety drivers.