The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended Pony.ai's robo-car testing approval following an October 28 crash. The company's robocar crashed into a road divider and a road sign in Fremont.

“On November 19, DMV notified Pony.ai that the department would immediately suspend a driverless testing permit following a reported single collision in Fremont, California on October 28,” the DMV said in a statement.

As noted by Pony.ai in a report to DMV, no one was injured in the incident, and no other cars were damaged either. Accidents during testing of driverless vehicles are not uncommon, Reuters points out, and it is unclear why this particular incident caused the permit to be suspended.

Pony.ai was licensed to test ten Hyundai Kona robotic vehicles in autonomous mode without a driver. The regulator stressed that the company will be able to continue testing robotic vehicles if there is a driver in the cab to ensure safety.

Testing approval was revoked just six months after it was received. Pony.ai is the eighth company to be licensed to test autonomous driving systems in California, joining Waymo, Cruise and others. The company indicates that it is working with the regulator and hopes to "resolve any problems that may arise."

“Much of the testing of Pony.ai has been and will continue to be done in the near future using autonomous technology,” says Pony.ai.

bbabo.Net