The San Bruno Police Department took to social media over the weekend highlighting its conundrum regarding how to hold a driverless vehicle accountable for violating traffic laws. A state law on the matter goes into effect July 2026.
As KRON4 reports, police officers patrolling for impaired drivers near the San Bruno Caltrain station recently witnessed the errant Waymo pulling a U-ey at a traffic light. Upon discovering there was no driver in the car, officers alerted the company to the “glitch” and sent the vehicle on its way, per KTVU.
“Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot,’)” the post reads. “Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
As the Chronicle reports, a new state law is going into effect in July 2026 enabling police to ticket driverless vehicle companies directly when their cars violate traffic rules, as there’s currently no law allowing for the ticketing of vehicles without drivers.
Image: San Bruno Police Department
