Police Officers Stunned to Find No Driver to Ticket
the staff the Ridgewood blog
San Bruno, CA – Think autonomous vehicles are above the law? Think again. On a Friday night in San Bruno, California, police officers conducting a DUI crackdown witnessed a surreal sight: a driverless Waymo robotaxi committing an illegal U-turn right in front of their patrol car.
This incident, which occurred on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, marked a first for the San Bruno police: pulling over a vehicle with absolutely no human driver inside.
The Waymo car, part of the company’s extensive fleet, surprised the officers when they attempted to conduct a traffic stop and issue a ticket for the violation. The problem? There was literally nobody to hand the citation to.
A Legal Gray Zone: The Future of Autonomous Enforcement
While the officers were unable to issue a citation, the event highlights a rapidly evolving legal gray zone surrounding self-driving cars. Currently, if there’s no driver, there’s no person to receive the ticket.
However, that loophole is closing fast. Police noted that this will change next July, when a new California law is set to take effect, allowing law enforcement to officially issue citations to the operators of driverless vehicles.
The police department shared photos of the bizarre traffic stop, hoping a quick “reprogramming” will keep the autonomous car following the rules of the road.
Waymo vs. the Competition: A Rare Traffic Blip
The incident comes despite Waymo’s rigorous development. The company spent 16 years gathering data and its robotaxis have driven over 96 million miles, claiming a safety record of 91% fewer serious injury accidents than human drivers.
This safety-first approach stands in sharp contrast to some competitors. For instance, the notorious Cruise accident where a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet ultimately led to GM shutting down that business. While Waymo has a strong safety track record, this illegal U-turn serves as a high-profile, albeit minor, example that even cutting-edge AI isn’t perfect—and that legislators are racing to catch up to the technology.
Follow the Ridgewood blog has a brand-new new X account, we tweet good sh$t
https://twitter.com/TRBNJNews
https://truthsocial.com/@theridgewoodblog
https://mewe.com/jamesfoytlin.74/posts
#news #follow #media #trending #viral #newsupdate #currentaffairs #BergenCountyNews #NJBreakingNews #NJHeadlines #NJTopStories
Tags: #Waymo #DriverlessCar #Robotaxi #AutonomousVehicles #SanBruno #CaliforniaLaw #TrafficStop #AITechnology #SelfDriving #TechNews
A programming change will fix that. Time to easily automate our freight and commuter trains. No steering or road signs! Just brakes, and 400+ fewer union employees to mess up our commute. Get it done!!