San Bruno Police Department via Facebook
- Police in San Bruno were in for a surprise when they pulled over a car for making an illegal U-turn.
- The vehicle belonged to Waymo, and it had neither a driver nor a passenger.
- The officers have no mechanism to issue traffic violation tickets to robots.
If you somehow happen to identify as a robot, you might just get away with your next traffic violation if the police pull you over.
A team of police officers in San Bruno, in the California Bay Area, was on a DUI operation on Saturday when they pulled over a car making an illegal U-turn in front of them.
But instead of an impaired driver, they found a completely empty car with no passenger or driver. It was an autonomous vehicle belonging to Waymo.
According to a Facebook post by the San Bruno Police Department, the officers pulled the Waymo over in front of a 360 Tints & Body auto shop on San Mateo Avenue and were able to roll the windows down for inspection. But things got tricky from there.
“That’s right… no driver, no hands, no clue. 🤖➡️⛔️,” the SBPD wrote on Facebook, noting that it was a first for the officers, who pulled over the Waymo.
“Officers stopped the vehicle and contacted the company to let them know about the ‘glitch,'” the department continued. “Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’). Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
The street that seemed to confuse the Waymo was a large crosswalk near the San Bruno Caltrain station and a Toyota dealership. According to Google Maps’ Street View, there are signs that ban U-turns for traffic going in both directions on San Mateo Avenue at that specific crossing.
According to a Waymo blog post, its vehicles are trained to “detect and respond to everything from fire trucks and ambulances to police cars and police motorcycles,” and police officers can safely pull over a Waymo by flashing emergency lights at it.
A Waymo spokesperson told Business Insider that the Waymo Driver system is “designed to respect the rules of the road” and that the company is looking into the incident.
What took place in San Bruno is not the first time a Waymo has gone wayward. In June 2024, an officer in Phoenix pulled a driverless Waymo over for driving into oncoming traffic, but was unable to issue a ticket to the car. In January, a passenger was stuck in a malfunctioning Waymo in Los Angeles as it drove in circles around a parking lot for several minutes.
Earlier in September, Waymo expanded its offering to the San Francisco International Airport after securing a permit from the city. The Alphabet-owned company also announced collaborations with other ride-hailing apps.
Legislation was passed in California and signed into law to ensure compliance with traffic laws for autonomous vehicles. Starting in July 2026, officers will be able to issue notices of autonomous vehicle noncompliance when a car without a human driver goes rogue. The citation would be sent to the vehicle manufacturer.
Until then, robots are free from tickets.
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