Car manufacturer Cruise, a General Motors owned brand, has had its permits to deploy its self-driving cars revoked by California's Department of Motor Vehicles after an accident in San Francisco. 

The accident involved a pedestrian on a crosswalk in San Francisco being hit by another vehicle and thrown into the path of one of Cruise’s driverless cars. According to an order of suspension issued by the department, the driverless car subsequently attempted a “pullover manoeuvre” that the DMV said had lasted seven seconds and involved dragging the pedestrian another 20ft.

In August, Cruise was granted the right to run full-scale driverless taxi services throughout San Francisco without any restrictions. A heavily opposed approval that, in hindsight, was premature. 

It is a timely reminder that despite the great steps taken by the driverless car industry, autonomous vehicles are still in their infancy, something that will no doubt be kept in mind as the UK currently lays the groundwork for its new Automated Vehicles Bill, intended to prepare Britain's roads for autonomous driving. A key aspect of the new Bill is that car makers, not owners, will bear the responsibility for any crashes in the UK involving autonomous vehicles.