California law lets police issue noncompliance notices to AV makers
Law enforcement agencies across the United States are struggling to enforce traffic laws against autonomous taxis as the vehicles multiply without a clear regulatory framework, according to interviews with police officials in several cities.
Austin Police Department Corporal Patrick Oborski said he recently saw a Waymo robotaxi speed ahead of traffic on the wrong side of the road at a busy downtown intersection. When he ran toward the car, he faced a uniquely modern policing paradox: with no driver inside, there was no one to ticket.
“They’re way better drivers than a lot of other drivers that we see on the road, to tell you the truth,” Oborski said. But he and other officers said autonomous vehicles struggle to handle unpredictable situations such as construction zones, emergency scenes, and directions from police.
The U.S. lacks a set of centralized rules governing how autonomous vehicles should behave, leaving states and cities to figure out enforcement on their own. This week, the chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged developers to improve how their vehicles interact with first responders.
Waymo leads the robotaxi industry with a fleet of about 4,000 vehicles offering driverless rides in 11 U.S. cities. The company recently announced plans to expand to Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Tampa, Florida. Goldman Sachs has predicted that by 2030 nearly 63,000 commercial robotaxis will be on U.S. roads.
In Texas, police officers cannot write a ticket for a car without a driver because state law requires a driver’s signature. Austin Police Lt. William White said that when an officer sees an autonomous vehicle break traffic rules, a complaint is filed in municipal court. White confirms the identity of the vehicle’s registered agent — for Waymo, its law firm — and the court sends a summons.
“It’s a very cumbersome process, and it isn’t done a whole lot just because of the complexity of doing it versus writing it a ticket,” said White, who serves on municipal and state bodies focused on autonomous technology.
Since July 2023, Austin has documented 298 incidents involving autonomous vehicles, ranging from vehicles circling a quiet neighborhood at night to wrecks involving other cars. Of those, 231 involved Waymo. Eight of the incidents led officers to file complaints against the company, White said.
White said the most common problem is robotaxis not moving. In March, a Waymo vehicle blocked an ambulance from reaching the scene of a shooting. “By far my biggest concern with them is and always has been their inability to adapt,” White said. Waymo said the delay didn’t “impact patient outcomes” and added, “We acknowledge we can do better and move faster.”
Several states including California and Arizona require robotaxi companies to have law enforcement interaction protocols before they can offer rides. Texas does not have such a mandate, but companies typically provide training for police. Waymo said it has provided in-person training for more than 35,000 first responders.
Phoenix police Detective Kurtis Merena said that during Waymo’s training for the traffic division, officers learned how to conduct traffic stops with clear, concise hand movements. “It takes a little bit of time and consistency in order for that vehicle to comprehend what it is that you’re actually asking,” Merena said.
Attempts to pull over autonomous vehicles are not always successful. Elliot Slade said he and his fiancée were in a Waymo on U.S. 101 in San Mateo, California, on May 18 when the vehicle drove into a construction zone. A highway patrol officer hit the lights and sirens and repeatedly said “Stop, Waymo” over a speaker, but the vehicle kept moving forward.
“We were like, ‘Is it going to stop?’” Slade said. “We didn’t know. And so that was a freaky moment.”
On July 1, a new California law took effect allowing police officers to issue notices of noncompliance to an autonomous vehicle manufacturer for moving violations. A Waymo spokesman said ignoring police signals is not its vehicles’ norm and that the company continually works to improve software and hardware.
In Austin, Oborski said he has sometimes trapped Waymo vehicles that got lost or ended up where they shouldn’t be using traffic cones in what he described as a “corral” until human employees arrive to move them. “Once we are in a situation that we’re not happy with the way it’s performed, we’re gonna make them come get it,” he said.