A Waymo vehicle pulled over by police in San Bruno, California, caused a unique traffic dilemma. The vehicle had no driver or passenger, leaving officers with no way to issue a ticket after it made an illegal U-turn. The stop happened in front of a body shop on San Mateo Avenue, where officers rolled down the windows for inspection and quickly realized they were dealing with a fully autonomous car.
While the incident created a real headache on the road, the vehicle remained technically untouchable under current law.
The Waymo appeared confused by a large crosswalk near the San Bruno Caltrain station and a nearby Toyota dealership. Google Maps Street View shows signs banning U-turns in both directions at that crossing.
Waymo pulled over by police—driverless, clueless
“That’s right… no driver, no hands, no clue,” the San Bruno Police Department wrote on Facebook, noting it was a first for them. “Officers stopped the vehicle and contacted the company to let them know about the ‘glitch.’ Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’). Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
Waymo says its vehicles are trained to “detect and respond to everything from fire trucks and ambulances to police cars and police motorcycles,” and officers can safely pull over a Waymo by flashing emergency lights. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that the Waymo Driver system is “designed to respect the rules of the road” and that they are investigating the incident.
Latest in a series of Waymo wackiness
This isn’t the first time a Waymo has gone off course. In June 2024, a Phoenix officer pulled over a driverless Waymo for entering oncoming traffic but couldn’t issue a ticket. In January, a malfunctioning Waymo drove in circles around a Los Angeles parking lot, trapping a passenger inside.
California passed legislation requiring autonomous vehicles to follow traffic laws. Starting in July 2026, officers will be able to issue notices of autonomous vehicle noncompliance, sending citations directly to the manufacturer. Until then, robots remain ticket-free.
Sources include San Bruno, California Police and Business Insider
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RVT1229b
Jetsons, meet the Jetsons.🎶
😆 lol
How long before they cause an accident.
They already have; I think one fatality in Pheonix. But their safety record is much, much better than human drivers.
Thank you for sharing the story, Russ and Tina! Am I correct that the “confusion” caused by the large crosswalk caused an illegal U-turn to be made by the driverless car? I could find no comment specifically identifying the infraction. Have a great day and safe travels!
Why couldn’t the vehicle be towed to a storage lot since it was causing an unsafe condition?
I’m sure Waymo could disable the vehicle remotely.
Then the company could be cited and made to pay storage fees.
Nice that the Cali law doesn’t take effect until mid 2026! 🙄 The autonomous vehicles are on the streets today, so the law should have gone into effect immediately. Nothing like cash penalties as an incentive to the mfgs to get their programming right.
Most vehicle acts provide for charging the owner, which should have worked in this case.