Cruise is at odds with the San Francisco Fireplace Section over a loss of life the town in part attributed to 2 independent cars blocking off an ambulance.
Fireplace officers mentioned the robotaxis operated via the Common Motors-backed corporate led to a modest prolong next a human-driven car struck a pedestrian Aug. 14.
“This delay, no matter how minimal, contributed to a poor patient outcome,” the incident record mentioned. “The fact that Cruise autonomous vehicles continue to block ingress and egress to critical 911 calls is unacceptable.”
Cruise says it has video disproving the accusation, and a TV station that received a album correct with the corporate’s rebuttal.
“The first vehicle promptly clears the area once the light turns green and the other stops in the lane to yield to first responders who are directing traffic,” a Cruise spokesperson mentioned in a remark to NBC Bay Department. “Throughout the entire duration the AV is stopped, traffic remains unblocked and flowing to the right of the AV. The ambulance behind the AV had a clear path to pass the AV as other vehicles, including the ambulance, proceeded to do so. As soon as the victim was loaded into the ambulance, the ambulance left the scene immediately and was never impeded from doing so by the AV.”
The TV station mentioned Cruise refused to proportion the video. However reporter Gia Vang procured a 13-minute album and mentioned Cruise’s description was once correct. “I can see what the company describes, including an ambulance that was able to get by that second stopped Cruise vehicle, though it was a bit of a squeeze,” Vang mentioned.
The incident isn’t the one supply of hysteria between disaster responders and independent car firms working in San Francisco. A town reliable instructed NBC Bay Department that there were greater than 70 reported circumstances of AVs interfering in disaster conditions.
