Police in San Bruno were patrolling for drunk drivers when they observed a car traveling erratically. <\/p>\n
But this couldn\u2019t be chalked up to an impaired or distracted driver. There wasn\u2019t anyone behind the wheel at all.<\/p>\n
Officers were bewildered to see the car \u2014 a self-driving Waymo robotaxi \u2014 make an illegal U-turn at a traffic light right in front of them, the San Bruno Police Department said in a social media post Saturday. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a first for both officers,\u201d the department wrote in the post, which included photos of an officer peering through the front window at the empty driver\u2019s seat. <\/p>\n
Because the car did not have a human driver, officers could not issue a ticket, police noted. Instead, officers contacted the company to let them know about the \u201cglitch,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n
The incident highlights a gap in California law for the hundreds of autonomous vehicles roaming the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco. <\/p>\n
When self-driving cars violate the rules of the road, law enforcement can\u2019t penalize them the same way that they can humans. The way state law has been interpreted, traffic tickets can only be issued to an actual driver. <\/p>\n
California lawmakers have sought to close the enforcement loophole with new legislation that will take effect in July \u2014 but critics say the law isn\u2019t strong enough. <\/p>\n
Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina said the company\u2019s vehicles are already subject to close, ongoing oversight by California regulators, and that the company\u2019s autonomous driving system \u201cis designed to respect the rules of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking into this situation and are committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience,\u201d Ilina said.<\/p>\n
The new law, Assembly Bill 1777, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year and will allow law-enforcement agencies to report instances of autonomous vehicle \u201cnoncompliance\u201d to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV is in the process <\/a>of hashing out the specifics, including potential penalties.<\/p>\n The law in its original form would have allowed self-driving cars to be ticketed for traffic violations, but it was watered down with amendments late in the legislative process.<\/p>\n Among the law\u2019s loudest critics is the Teamsters union, which has said<\/a> the law takes California \u201cbackward.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI bet everyday Californians wish that, when they made a mistake driving, they got a courtesy note instead of an expensive ticket,\u201d Peter Finn, the Western Region vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told Mission Local last year.<\/a> <\/p>\n The union has pushed for more oversight of self-driving vehicles, such as legislation mandating human operators in autonomous heavy duty trucks and other delivery vehicles. <\/p>\n California\u2019s tack is less heavy handed than Arizona or Texas, two other states with a notable autonomous vehicle presence. Both states updated their laws years ago<\/a> to allow officers to issue citations to the registered owner of the vehicle, even if no human is present.<\/p>\n Self-driving vehicles have sparked safety concerns and drawn scrutiny at times, including after a 2023 incident in which a pedestrian was seriously injured by a Cruise vehicle<\/a>. <\/p>\n