The United States state of California has suspended testing of Cruise self-driving cars developed by General Motors (GM), citing safety concerns after a series of accidents and mishaps. California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced on Tuesday that it had suspended the deployment of GM self-driving vehicles and driverless testing permits, the latest regulatory agency to express concerns over their safety. "When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits," the department said in response to an inquiry from the news outlet AFP. Self-driving cars have been met with mixed reactions from the public, some of whom see them as an exciting technological development while others view them as a nuisance or a hazard. The suspension follows a series of accidents involving Cruise vehicles and marks a serious setback for GM's efforts to break into the autonomous vehicle industry.

The decision was controversial in San Francisco, with some saying that the vehicles are safer than those driven by human drivers - while others say that they pose a safety risk by blocking fire trucks.

A Cruise self-driving car appeared to hinder first responders as they tried to access the scene of a mass shooting in San Francisco's Mission District on Friday night, raising concerns about robotaxis' ability to safely offer rides throughout the city. Emergency crews were responding to a shooting on 24th Street shortly after 9pm in which nine people were injured. In a video posted to Twitter, a Cruise self-driving car is seen in the road as an officer approaches it and says it's "blocking emergency medical and fire. I've got to get it out of here now." In a statement, Cruise maintained that the car did not block emergency access to the scene "at any point".

American automaker General Motors announced Friday it is acquiring SoftBank's $2.1 billion stake in its autonomous car venture Cruise. In addition, GM will chip in another $1.35 billion investment to cover a commitment made in 2018 by the Vision Fund of SoftBank, a Japanese telecom giant. The Detroit firm has ramped up its investments in autonomous technology and its build-out of electric vehicle capacity as it looks to curb emissions and engage in a technology race with Tesla and other self-driving ventures. Cruise last month opened a sign-up page to allow consumers to take a driverless ride. "Cruise has made self-driving cars a reality and is a leader on the pathway to commercial autonomous ridesharing and delivery, creating significant value for both GM shareholders and Cruise's minority shareholders," GM said in a statement.