In a statement Tuesday, Whitten said that joining Cruise is “an opportunity of a lifetime” and predicted that the company would make rapid progress. “In a few years, transportation will be fundamentally safer and more accessible than it is today, creating much more value for individuals and communities around the world,” he said.
Whitten will oversee the return of Cruise’s driverless cars to public roads, which began last month in Phoenix with humans in the driving seat in case of problems. He must also try to restore the trust of regulators and the public in a company that was once seen as a leader in the self-driving car industry. After the Oct. 2 crash in San Francisco, which gravely injured a woman by dragging her about 20 feet underneath the vehicle, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said the company posed an “unreasonable risk” to public safety.
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As it works to resume driverless operation, Cruise appointed a chief safety officer and said it has been working with closely with city and state officials.
In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Cruise President and Chief Technology Officer Mo Elshenawy said the company is working to resume fully driverless operations in one U.S. city, like those that once ferried paying riders around San Francisco, but said the company “hasn’t decided” which one yet. Cruise said this month that it is testing its cars with safety drivers behind the wheel in Houston and Dallas, in addition to Phoenix.
“We’re evolving,” Elshenawy said, “towards not only being better than an average driver, but better than a role model driver.”