Austin launches dashboard to track self-driving vehicle incidents

Cruise autonomous vehicles have been causing headaches for Texas drivers.

Feb 23, 2020: A Cruise self-driving car undergoing testing in the SoMa District of San Francisco. A subsidiary of GM, Cruise tests and develops autonomous car technology.
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MYSA
By Cristela Jones
November 24, 2023

As self-driving cars continue to fill the streets of Austin, causing their fair share of headaches, the city is launching a new way to keep track of the vehicles' safety on the road.

Austin's Downtown Commission now has a dashboard to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The effort comes as more people have reported driverless car complaints within the past year, with complaints ranging from the AVs blocking traffic, nearly missing other cars, and even hit-and-run collisions. The most common complaint was nearly hitting other cars on the road. 

Residents are urged to call 311 to report these issues to the city, who will transfer the reports to the autonomous car companies and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).The dashboard will be updated every week and categorize data by incidents that block traffic, ignore directions from city police, and more.

In September, Cruise self-driving cars caused traffic jams in downtown Austin streets. In October, five self-driving car collisions were reported, according to KXAN. 

Last month, California banned Cruise driverless cars after calling the vehicles a risk to public safety, according to Reuters. Earlier this month, General Motors recalled Cruise cars when one of its AVs dragged a pedestrian nearly 20 feet in San Francisco. 

The City of Austin received 43 complaints related to driverless cars since July, and all but one of the 43 complaints were about Cruise cars, according to KXAN reporting. 

Most of the complaints (19) were submitted by residents, while fourteen were submitted by the Austin Fire Department, and seven came from the Austin Police Department.