A self-driving Waymo car managed to confuse both traffic officers and technology watchers after it was pulled over in California for making an illegal U-turn. According to TechSpot, the incident took place in San Bruno during a DUI enforcement operation, when the police noticed the autonomous vehicle performing a prohibited maneuver. Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop, only to find there was no driver inside to question – or ticket.
The problem exposed a glaring gap in current traffic laws. While officers can issue tickets for parking violations even if a vehicle is unoccupied, there’s no clear legal framework for citing a moving violation when no human is behind the wheel. The police ended up reporting the event to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which oversees the state’s autonomous driving programs.
The agency confirmed that new legislation is on the way that could change how such incidents are handled. Starting next year, law enforcement will have the authority to refer violations by self-driving cars directly to the DMV, which will then determine responsibility and possible penalties. Until then, there’s essentially no mechanism to punish the car – or the company – for breaking traffic rules.
Waymo, owned by Alphabet, said it’s reviewing what happened and cooperating with authorities. The company emphasized that all of its vehicles operate within strict safety protocols and under state oversight. Still, this isn’t the first time an autonomous car has gotten tangled in legal gray areas. As more driverless vehicles hit public roads in cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, questions about accountability are becoming impossible to ignore.
Legal experts argue that cases like this one highlight how outdated traffic laws are for the age of automation. If a self-driving car causes an accident or breaks a law, who is at fault – the vehicle’s operator, the manufacturer, or the algorithm? The answer will likely define how quickly autonomous driving is accepted by regulators and the public.
For now, the San Bruno incident serves as a reminder that while technology may be ready to take the wheel, the law is still catching up. The Waymo car may have driven itself into a legal blind spot—one that regulators will need to fix before the roads fill with more robotic drivers.