An autonomous Cruise vehicle left police confused when they tried to pull it over

Since February, GM’s Cruise self-driving unit has offered public taxi rides in San Francisco. And for the most part, it seems the service hasn’t run into any notable problems. That is until a strange situation played out last weekend when one of the company’s vehicles left police seemingly confused by its response to a routine traffic stop.

The video you see above was first posted on April 2nd but only began to circulate widely after 9to5 publisher Seth Weintraub shared it on his personal Twitter account on Saturday. It shows San Francisco police attempting to pull over a driverless Cruise vehicle in the city’s Richmond District, only for the car to temporarily take off as a group of onlookers watch the scene in disbelief.

One day after Weintraub shared the video, Cruise commented on the clip, stating its vehicle yielded to police and moved to the nearest safe location for that traffic stop. “An officer contacted Cruise personnel and no citation was issued,” the company said. “We work closely with the SFPD on how to interact with our vehicles, including a dedicated phone number for them to call in situations like this.”

It’s unclear why police stopped the vehicle, but it would appear the car didn’t have its front lights on. It’s safe to say we may see more episodes like the one that played out on April 2nd occur as autonomous vehicles become a more common sight on US roads. It should come as no surprise then Cruise produced a video designed to teach first responders how to approach its vehicles. Check it out above.

Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad is down to $309 right now

For a few days now, Amazon has offered a $50 discount on the 256GB model of Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad, allowing you to purchase the tablet for $429. But if all you wanted to do was buy the less expensive base model, you’ve been out of luck until now. As of this weekend, you can purchase the 64GB variant for $309, down from $329, from both Amazon and Walmart. That’s the best discount of the year on Apple’s entry-level tablet. Just note that Amazon is only offering the silver colorway at that price, while you can get both the silver and space gray models for $309 from Walmart.

Buy 10.2-inch iPad at Amazon – $309Buy 10.2-inch iPad at Walmart

We gave the ninth generation iPad a score of 86 in 2021. Yes, it features a tired design that Apple hasn’t updated in years, but there’s still a lot to like about the tablet. It’s a solid performer with Apple’s in-house A13 Bionic chip powering everything, including the updated 12-megapixel wide-angle camera that comes with the company’s “Center Stage” feature for improved video calling. Battery life is also solid, with the tablet capable of going 10-plus hours on a single charge.

The main drawbacks of the 10.2-inch iPad are that it doesn’t come with a USB-C port and that you’re stuck using the first-generation Apple Pencil – which you charge by connecting it to the tablet’s Lightning port. That said, if all you need is a device for browsing the web, reading and watching video content, it’s hard to go wrong with the 10.2-inch iPad.

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