EXCLUSIVE: Video shows Cruise driverless car stalled on SF street for hours
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- An autonomous car got stuck for hours today on a San Francisco street.
This is the latest incident ABC7 News has seen involving a driverless car suddenly coming to a stop. It all comes amid a debate among government leaders over how to regulate the vehicles.
Dylan Fetterman was taking his husband to work early Friday morning when suddenly, he noticed something bizarre stuck in the middle of the road.
"I was like, this is kind of strange, so I started just videotaping," Fetterman said.
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Fetterman's video shows a driverless Cruise car stopped on 9th street in San Francisco -- not far from a Highway 101 exit.
He says it was in the middle of the street for at least two hours and was worried about the safety risks it posed.
"There's a lot of EMTs that go through here, a lot of fire trucks that go through here, a lot of police that go through here, and it's just not safe to have this area of the street backed up," Fetterman said.
Fetterman tells me he tried reaching out to Cruise multiple times and even walked over to one of their offices that was just blocks away.
VIDEO: Cruise self-driving taxi being investigated after braking, clogging traffic in SF
However, he says after receiving little help, he decided to contact SFMTA.
"311 actually came out before Cruise and cited the vehicle," Fetterman said.
Fetterman says he's reaching out because of the safety risks he believes the vehicle posed. And he's not the only one who's spoken out in recent times.
Several San Francisco city officials have raised questions about the need for further regulation on autonomous vehicles.
MORE: Tesla that hit fire truck in deadly I-680 crash in Walnut Creek was on autopilot, company says
One supervisor tweeted about whether they add value to the city.
Cruise sent ABC7 News a statement Friday evening.
It reads in part: "Improving road safety is our chief mission- not only for Cruise passengers, but for everyone we share the road with. We are always improving our technology and apologize to anyone inconvenienced by these incidents."
As for Fetterman, he thinks more oversight is the way to go.
"I would really like to see some type of legislation that enforces the need for transparency from these technology companies. That forces them to have some way to contact them in case of an emergency," he said.
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