As Cruise and Zoox expand their testing of automated vehicles into Texas' largest metro areas, including Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Witherite Law Group is stepping up to offer specialized legal services to address the potential risks and pain points associated with this technology.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit after getting reports that the vehicles may not have used proper caution around pedestrians. Cruise recalled its cars to update software after one of them dragged a pedestrian to the side of a San Francisco street in early October.

Last year one of its cars operating in San Francisco struck a pedestrian who was hurled into the driverless taxi’s path by another vehicle and dragged them approximately 20 feet after getting pinned under its tire. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended the company’s permits less than a month later.

In Dallas and Houston, Cruise vehicles will start with drivers at the wheel, transitioning to autonomous driving with safety drivers. Eventually, the company aims to launch fully driverless vehicles accessible through an app, similar to other ridesharing services.

Attorney Amy Witherite, founder of Witherite Law Group, highlights the firm's commitment to protecting public safety in the face of these developments. “The complete lack of government standards allows companies like Cruise to determine when and if their technology is safe,” said Witherite. “We have already seen the tragic results when the unproven experimental technology fails to meet the challenges of modern traffic.”

According to the company’s blog, Cruise vehicles have more than 5 million driverless miles of testing on public roads, far less than experts say is necessary. Witherite points out that a RAND Corporation study warns that “it may not be possible to establish the safety of autonomous vehicles prior to making them available for public use. The results show that autonomous vehicles would have to be driven hundreds of millions of miles and sometimes hundreds of billions of miles to demonstrate their reliability in terms of fatalities and injuries.”

Following numerous accidents, Tesla offers the same warning concerning the reliability of autonomous vehicles. “Full autonomy will be dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval.”

For example, the NHTSA launched an investigation after two Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s automated self-driving braked unexpectedly. In both cases, motorcyclists collided with the Zoox vehicles, which led to minor injuries. The agency’s probe covers about 500 vehicles and focuses on the performance of Zoox’s automated driving system, specifically how it behaves near crosswalks and “in other similar rear-end collision” scenarios. Zoox will soon begin testing their automated vehicles in Austin.

The NHTSA has opened an investigation of automated driving systems involving Waymo’s self-driving vehicles after getting 22 reports of Waymo vehicles either crashing or doing something that may have violated traffic laws.

“There are almost no regulations for these driverless vehicles,” said Witherite. “In 2017 the Texas Legislature passed a bill legalizing driverless vehicles and preventing cities like Dallas from enacting their own regulations.”

According to The Verge, “the automaker has lost $8.2 billion on Cruise since 2017, with $3.48 billion lost in 2023 alone.”

“These companies are under tremendous financial pressure to monetize this technology,” warns Witherite. “Without extensive testing and regulations, that may come at the expense of public safety.”

The Witherite Law Group specializes in vehicle accident cases and offers crucial support for individuals involved in accidents with driverless vehicles. For more information visit their website. www.witheritelaw.com/.

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