California Police officers in San Bruno pull over a Waymo, autonomous ride-hailing vehicle for an illegal U-turn but find no law allows ticketing a vehicle without a driver.
Police in California found themselves in an unusual situation last week when they stopped a car that had made an illegal U-turn—only to discover there was no driver behind the wheel.
The incident took place in San Bruno, a city south of San Francisco, during a routine operation targeting impaired drivers. Officers pulled over a Waymo, one of the autonomous ride-hailing vehicles widely used in the San Francisco Bay Area. Photos posted by the department showed an officer peering into the driverless vehicle.
“Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued—our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot,’” the San Bruno police department said in a statement. The department added that Waymo had been notified of the violation and was expected to review the system to prevent similar errors.
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Waymo, which began as a project under Google’s X research lab in 2009, said its technology is programmed to comply with traffic laws. “We are looking into this situation and remain committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience,” the company said.
The incident highlights a growing challenge for US law enforcement as self-driving vehicles become more common on public roads. Current traffic codes are written around human drivers, leaving officers with limited options when autonomous vehicles break the rules.
California lawmakers have already attempted to close that gap. Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation allowing police to issue “notices of noncompliance” to companies if their vehicles violate traffic laws. The law, set to take effect in July 2026, also requires firms to provide emergency hotlines for first responders. Under the new rules, police and firefighters will be able to order companies to redirect or remove their vehicles from specific areas within two minutes.
The law was introduced following a string of troubling incidents in San Francisco, including reports of driverless cars blocking intersections, impeding firetrucks, and even dragging a pedestrian. Safety regulators have also raised concerns. Earlier this year, Waymo recalled more than 1,200 cars after a software flaw led to collisions with gates and chains. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating 22 reports of Waymo vehicles behaving unpredictably.
For San Bruno police, the situation underscored the current legal gap. Addressing suggestions that officers had gone easy on the robot car, the department responded simply: “There is legislation in the works that will allow officers to issue the company notices.”
