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Police in a Silicon Valley suburb were flummoxed last weekend after pulling over a self-driving Waymo robo-taxi for making an illegal turn, then finding no driver they could issue with a ticket.
The incident happened in San Bruno, where cops set up a checkpoint to catch intoxicated drivers. As cars lined up, one vehicle, a self-driving Waymo, pulled an illegal U-turn and began to drive away.
The cops fired up their lights and the Waymo pulled over automatically as the robo-cab operator trains its cars to do. But the police officers who pursued the robo-taxi couldn't hand out a ticket, since the driverless taxi had nobody inside.
"Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for 'robot')," said the San Bruno Police Department on its Facebook page. "Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves. It was a first for both officers."
Human drivers who make illegal turns risk a $234 fine, plus court fees if drivers contest a ticket. San Bruno’s police admitted they currently lack the authority to bill the vehicle's operator. However, changes are in progress to make that possible, the force said.
"Waymo’s autonomous driving system, the Waymo Driver, is designed to respect the rules of the road," the car biz told The Register. "We are looking into this situation and are committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience."
Self-driving vehicles can pick up tickets for parking violations like blocking street cleaning or overstaying in a spot. In 2024 Waymo reportedly racked up $65,065 in parking tickets in San Francisco, a tiny fraction of the $120 million worth of tickets issued around the city in that year.
But when California started handing out licenses to the makers of autonomous vehicles, authorities granted robo-taxi operators a waiver on minor traffic offenses.
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That's due to change. Last year, the California state assembly voted through Assembly Bill No. 1777 which makes the operators of autonomous vehicles subject to moving violations starting from July 1, 2026.
California is playing catch up. Waymo has operated in Phoenix, Arizona, for nearly five years now and this issue has cropped up there as well. On June 19, 2024, cops spotted a Waymo driving down the wrong side of the road and running a red light.
After the vehicle stopped, the officer spoke to a remote operator and said he didn't issue a ticket. But police have had the right to do this since 2018, when lawmakers amended local laws.
Other states have either already amended their laws or are in the process of doing so. Which begs the question: What took California so long, given that autonomous taxi operations started in the state? ®
