Driverless vehicle dodges ticket
A recent incident with an autonomous vehicle may have been a first for California’s San Bruno Police Department, but it likely won’t be the last.
Driverless vehicle companies are expanding operations and deploying across the country. This follows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration amending its guidelines for automated driving systems in June and proposed legislation in July to preempt state laws pertaining to autonomous commercial vehicles.
“The rules of the road need to be updated to fit the realities of the 21st century,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in September. “Our changes will eliminate redundant requirements and bring us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”
Bot Auto, Aurora, International and Daimler Truck are among the companies that have recently announced new driverless routes, pilot programs and/or production facilities.
Even NASCAR used driverless trucks to transport tires from North Carolina to events in Indiana.
Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company based in Mountain View, Calif., was central to a video making the rounds showing one of its driverless taxis being pulled over by local law enforcement.
The San Bruno Police Department explained the incident on its Facebook page.
According to the department’s social media post, local law enforcement observed a Waymo driverless vehicle making an illegal U-turn during a DUI enforcement operation.
Officers stopped the vehicle and contacted the company but were unable to issue a ticket, as there was no human driver.
“Our citation books don’t have a box for robot,” the police department’s post said. “Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
San Bruno police noted that legislation is in the works that will allow officers to issue driverless vehicle companies notices in these such instances.
Waymo is currently operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Denver with plans to begin services in New York, Seattle and Nashville in the near future. LL