Meghana KandraGeneral Motors and its self-driving unit Cruise petitioned the US regulators to build and deploy its self-driving cars on roads without any human controls. Self-driving units have barely received permission to deploy their vehicles without a safety driver, and GM is going ahead and seeking to develop and use vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals.
Image credits- Auto Recent
GM Cruise stated in its weblog on Friday that it sought permission to deploy the Cruise Origin that doesn’t want options like a steering wheel to function safely. Furthermore stated that the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration has the authority to grant petitions. Like, to permit a restricted variety of automobiles to quickly function on U.S. roads that shouldn’t have required human controls.
Cruise wrote, saying it would expand mobility options for people who had traditionally faced barriers to reliable transportation, including seniors and the blind. Stating “The submission of this petition signals that Cruise and GM are ready to build and deploy the Origin, here in America,”
The Origin, which was developed by GM and Cruise investor Honda Motor has two long seats facing each other that can comfortably fit four passengers. It said that production is expected to begin in late 2022 in Detroit at a GM factory with vehicles delivered in 2023.
Deploy Cruise Origin
Cruise and GM first disclosed in October 2020 they planned to seek approval from NHTSA within months to deploy the Cruise Origin. In 2018, GM petitioned NHTSA to allow a car built on a Chevrolet Bolt without steering wheels or brake pedals on U.S. roads. In late 2020, GM withdrew the petition. NHTSA spent 15 months reviewing the primary GM petition earlier than searching for public remarks. Laws to hurry deployment of self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads without human controls have stalled in Congress.
However, under current law, companies can seek an exemption from motor vehicle safety standards for up to 2,500 vehicles for up to two years that do not meet existing federal rules. Then in May 2021, Cruise urged U.S. President Joe Biden to back legislation raising the cap on the number of vehicles that a company can seek to have exempted. The rules were largely written decades ago and assumed human drivers would be in control of a vehicle. Later in December, China’s Geely Holding said its premium electric mobility brand, Zeekr, will make electric vehicles for Waymo, Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit, to be deployed as fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicles across the United States.
Credits- Reuters