San Bruno police officers were left perplexed after pulling over a Waymo driverless car that made an illegal U-turn during a DUI enforcement operation. The autonomous vehicle, operated by Google's Waymo, was stopped after it executed the turn at a traffic light, but officers found no driver behind the wheel.
The San Bruno Police Department posted about the incident on social media, noting that a ticket could not be issued because citation books do not have a box for 'robot'. The department stated that they had alerted Waymo to the glitch and hoped that reprogramming would prevent future illegal moves.
Waymo responded by saying its autonomous driving system is designed to respect the rules of the road and that it is looking into the situation. The company emphasised its commitment to improving road safety through ongoing learning and experience.
California has passed legislation that will allow police to issue a 'notice of noncompliance' to driverless cars that break traffic laws, but this law does not take effect until July 2026. The bill was introduced following several incidents in San Francisco involving autonomous vehicles blocking traffic, interfering with emergency services, and entering active crime scenes.
