Cruise chief safety officer Steve Kenner. Image: Cruise
Cruise is under investigation in the US after one of its vehicles dragged and pinned a pedestrian last year, severely eroding trust in the company’s self-driving vehicles.
GM-owned Cruise has appointed Steve Kenner as its chief safety officer, as the robotaxi maker works to rebuild trust in its services.
Cruise was mired in controversy last year after one of its autonomous vehicles dragged and pinned down a hit-and-run victim in San Francisco. The company’s expansion plans were severely disrupted as a result of this incident and Cruise had its driverless taxi permit suspended in the US state of California.
Kenner has nearly four decades of experience in engineering and automotive safety, recently serving as safety VP at self-driving trucking company Kodiak.
“Safety requires that every team within a company work together to put passengers and other road users first,” he said. “That partnership must include regulators, and I look forward to earning their trust.
“On a personal note, I started my career as an engineer at GM, so it’s a full circle moment returning to work for a company so closely aligned with GM and its plans for the future.”
The appointment follows Cruise’s decision to recall its entire fleet of robotaxis last year, after defects were found within the company’s automated driving system software. The company cut nearly one-quarter of its workforce and said it would enhance its safety standards before scaling up its operations.
“We know we must continually improve our overall safety performance and work to build trust with regulators, other government officials and our communities,” said Cruise president and chief administrative officer Craig Glidden. “Steve Kenner brings the perfect blend of experience in AV [autonomous vehicles] and automotive safety excellence to help deliver on these important priorities.”
But Cruise still faces an uphill battle when it comes to rebuilding trust with regulators and moving on from the controversial October incident, which is being investigated by various US organisations including its Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Meanwhile, sentiment for self-driving vehicles appears to be low in San Francisco, as a crowd recently set a Waymo vehicle on fire, Reuters reports.
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