In San Francisco, driverless cars, a common sight on the city’s streets, are operating under a legal loophole that prevents local police from issuing moving violation citations. Despite autonomous vehicle (AV) companies like Waymo and Cruise offering paid rides in the city, California’s vehicle code doesn’t grant police the authority to ticket driverless cars for offenses like speeding or running red lights. San Francisco Police Department’s Chief William Scott conveyed this limitation in a September 2022 notice, explaining that while officers could initiate traffic stops if they witnessed an AV violating road rules, they couldn’t issue citations for moving violations if the AV operated in a driverless mode.
The notice highlighted the evolving nature of technology, outpacing legislation and regulations. Safety drivers, if present, could be cited, but the lack of legal provision for moving violations in autonomous mode poses challenges. Officers are instructed to compile incident reports and forward them to the traffic division and commercial vehicle unit. While Texas and Arizona adapted their vehicle codes to enable citations for moving violations by AVs, California is yet to follow suit. Chief Scott mentioned anticipated legislative changes by the California Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Motor Vehicles, but no concrete steps have been taken.
In contrast, for human drivers in California, new laws allowing devices to automatically issue speeding tickets based on license plate readings are set to be implemented, indicating a divergence in regulatory approaches between autonomous and traditional vehicles.