San Francisco

Following criticism from first responders, Cruise says its driverless cars can now better detect emergency scenes

Cruise tells the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit its fleet of autonomous vehicles have learned to be better drivers as a result of several software updates over the past few months

NBC Universal, Inc.

Seeking to address one of the biggest concerns about its driverless vehicle technology, autonomous vehicle company Cruise announced Thursday that internal software updates have improved how its fleet of robotaxis react to emergency vehicles on the streets of San Francisco.

“We recognize the unique challenges first responders face when interacting with an autonomous vehicle that has no driver present,” the company said in a blog post announcing the software updates.

According to Cruise, its cars now lower their speed by about 70% once they begin to hear a siren. They’ve also been reprogrammed to more quickly find a safe place to pull over if emergency vehicles are heading in their direction, according to the company, and can better navigate around stopped emergency vehicles so they don’t block traffic. The vehicles are also now better equipped to recognize emergency scenes, according to the blog post.

A Cruise spokesperson couldn't provide details as to when exactly the software updates went into effect, only saying they occurred within the past few months, including some that were initiated earlier this year to "enhance" the vehicles' ability to identify fire hoses and caution tape so that vehicles don't plow into them.

While the company is clearly touting the improvements, it acknowledges the technology still isn't perfect.

"While these changes further improve our interactions, there may be times when unique and unpredictable
situations are unavoidable," the blog post noted.

The San Francisco Fire Department, which has long been critical of the autonomous vehicle industry’s efforts to address issues between robotaxis and first responders, applauded the announcement.

“We think close collaboration with cities – including first responder agencies – is essential to industry success,” a department spokesperson said in an email Thursday. “We are pleased that the industry has been meeting with City leaders to problem solve incidents between AVs and emergency response operations, and we are eager to see Cruise’s software upgrades help prevent future incidents.”

For months, the San Francisco Fire Department and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have complained driverless appear to get confused by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, causing them at times to stop in the middle of the road and block first responders.

In an interview earlier this year, Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson expressed her frustration over what she perceived as a lack of action by autonomous vehicle companies to address their concerns.

“I’m not anti-technology, I am pro-safety,” Nicholson said.  “There's a lot of smart people on both sides and they can troubleshoot and they can work together to figure things out and make things better, and I have seen no effort on the [autonomous vehicle] side to make that happen. And it's really distressing.”

At the request of the DMV, Cruise is still using just half of its available fleet of cars in San Francisco. The DMV launched a safety investigation into Cruise in August, the result of what the state agency described as a series of “concerning incidents,” including a collision between a driverless cruise vehicle and a fire truck.

The DMV has yet to announce any results from its ongoing probe.

In its Thursday announcement, Cruise said its committed to developing a product that first responders can trust.

“Engaging in open communication with first responders has always been a priority for us, and we’re eager to continue our collaboration with them” the company said in the post. “We are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that first responders can trust in and understand the behavior of our vehicles during emergency situations.”

How safe are driverless cars in San Francisco? We’ve been seeing a string of problems and now, one of the driverless car companies is making safety upgrades. NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai spoke to Investigative Reporter Bigad Shaban, who’s been following driverless cars in the city, for some insight.

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