U.S. regulators will soon decide on a petition filed by General Motors’ (GM.N) Cruise self-driving technology unit seeking permission to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving cars annually without human controls, a top auto safety official said on Wednesday. In a speech at the Automated Road Transportation Symposium, National Highway Traffic Safety acting administrator Ann Carlson said the agency would decide on the G.M. request in the coming weeks.
G.M.’s Cruise is already operating a fleet of driverless Chevrolet Bolt vehicles for ride-sharing in San Francisco. It wants to expand that service with a more extensive fleet of vehicles based on its new Cruise Origin, which will be built without a steering wheel or pedals. But the company needs an exemption from federal vehicle standards designed for a world where humans drive.
The agency is considering G.M.’s request, which seeks government approval to deploy vehicles annually without steering wheels, mirrors, turn signals, or windshield wipers. The exemption could allow G.M. to add more autonomous cars to its current fleet and offer services that do not require human drivers, such as deliveries and ride-sharing.
But San Francisco police officers, firefighters, and transit workers have complained about the erratic behavior of the cars, saying they stop in the middle of the road, block travel lanes, and even veer off the road and into people. In late May, city officials said they had received a surge of 911 calls about the vehicles.
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Those incidents have added skepticism over the technology that G.M. uses to compete with Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and other autonomous carmakers. Last month, a crash between an errant Cruise car and a parked Toyota Prius in San Francisco injured two people. And a few days later, a dozen Cruise cars stopped at an intersection due to a technical problem, blocking traffic for an hour or more.
NHTSA is reviewing the incident and examining data on 242 Cruise vehicles, according to the statement from the safety agency. The review will determine whether the vehicles are safe to operate and, if so, what changes must be made. It will also determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a recall.
The agency’s actions come as it faces an uptick in traffic deaths after a prolonged slump that has resulted in the highest number of people killed on America’s roads since 2005. President Donald Trump recently praised the agency and its acting chief, Carlson, saying her “expertise in advancing the mission of NHTSA is unmatched.” Carlson was nominated by former Vice President Joe Biden in February but faced a tumultuous confirmation process that dragged on for over a year. Eventually, 13 Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee voted against her, citing her work to advance fuel-economy standards, as they sought to overturn a previous administration’s rulemaking. She was able to overcome those objections and win the support of the Democrats. Her nomination was returned to the committee on Tuesday, and it is expected to receive a total vote next week.