AI on the Road: The Ticket No One Could Write

Police in San Bruno, California, encountered an unusual situation when they pulled over a Waymo driverless taxi after it made an illegal U-turn.

Expecting to ticket the driver, officers instead found no one behind the wheel.

The police admitted they could not issue a citation since their books had “no box for robot,” calling it a first for law enforcement.

They contacted Waymo about the glitch. The company responded that its self-driving system is designed to obey traffic laws and is continuously being improved.

Waymo operates fleets of autonomous taxis in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where their empty driver’s seats and self-turning steering wheels often attract attention.

While passengers have embraced the convenience, the incident highlights unresolved questions about responsibility, regulation, and safety in the age of autonomous vehicles.