In a curious incident in San Bruno, California, a Waymo autonomous vehicle made an illegal U-turn during a DUI enforcement operation. This rare occurrence has prompted a lot of questions about the enforcement of traffic laws when it comes to driverless vehicles. Watch the video the San Bruno Police Department released to stop the car. To their surprise, they quickly learned that no one was steering it!
Waymo recently received approval to expand its region of operation for a fleet of driverless ride-hailing vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally launched in 2009 as a project under Google’s X research lab, Waymo has developed its technology using external cameras and sensors. Unfortunately for the company, the decks were recently stacked against them. Earlier this year, they were forced to recall more than 1,200 vehicles due to software problems that resulted in crashes with fixed roadway obstacles such as chain-link fences and gates.
In fact, the Waymo incident happened while officers were working a DUI enforcement detail. What San Bruno police saw was an illegal U-turn. Yet they were unable to issue a ticket because there was no human driver to cite.
“Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’)” – San Bruno police department
The police department would go on to publicly field questions about their handling of the event. They recently trumpeted on Facebook the introduction of new legislation—keeping the momentum going. This would give police greater authority to issue violation notices to firms such as Waymo when their vehicles are caught violating traffic safety rules.
“There is legislation in the works that will allow officers to issue the company notices” – San Bruno police department
As of this week, thanks to newly signed California Governor Gavin Newsom, that new law is on the books. This legislation authorizes law enforcement to cite driverless vehicles by issuing a “notice of noncompliance” for traffic violations. Come July 2026, a new law will be fully implemented. For instance, it would need companies such as Waymo to establish a dedicated emergency communication system for first responders.
In response, Waymo has admitted fault and reaffirmed its dedication to safety on our roads. In its defense, the company argued that its vehicles are programmed to obey the law.
“We are looking into this situation and are committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience” – Waymo
With the technology behind autonomous vehicles developing at breakneck speed. Incidents like this highlight the immediate need for regulatory frameworks that clearly outline how they should operate. With legislation still being drafted, companies such as Waymo will need to continue to operate within the evolving legal landscape. In the process, they’ll place a priority on improving safety for all road users.