What’s the proper punishment for an illegal U-turn? If you’re a human being in California, it’s a fine of up to $234. If you’re a robot, apparently, it’s nothing at all.
This injustice became apparent to many Facebook users Saturday night after a viral post from the San Bruno Police Department showed footage of officers pulling over a Waymo for the scofflaw maneuver, only to discover that no one was behind the wheel.
The car stopped automatically when it saw the police lights during a Friday-evening DUI checkpoint, but instead of a person IRL, officers were connected with a Waymo rep over the phone. After a brief exchange, the Waymo was sent on its way.
Under current law, officials explained, they couldn’t issue a ticket.
“Our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’,” they joked on Facebook (opens in new tab). “Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
The Facebook post included a video of a cop peering through the driver’s side window, with the song, “Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna playing in the background.
In the comments, the department noted that unlike with Waymos, self-driving Teslas are not fully autonomous. Therefore, even if the robot driver made a mistake, the human in the car is held accountable. But if there’s no one in the car, as was the case Saturday, they can’t issue a violation.
Police also explained that there’s a new bill, AB 1777 (opens in new tab), that would allow officers to issue notices as a result of violations. Because why should a robot get off easier than a human?
“I am also a robot, why did I get a ticket?” one commenter, Andy McGyver, quipped in response to the department’s Facebook post. “Because I have a fleshy substrate?”
“If I get pulled over I’ll hop in the passenger seat and say it’s an automated car,” Jess Kio added.
“I’m gonna hide in the trunk next time,” Dave Nguyen said.
Other commenters, many of whom have seen Waymos park illegally or stop in the middle of the road, were upset not only that the robotaxi got off the hook but that it was allowed back on the road. Autonomous vehicles like Cruise have been known to block emergency responses to shootings.
“Seems like impounding the vehicle would have been a good move here,” Lee Jones suggested.
“Straight to jail,” Christopher Manchester added.
But some noted that an illegal U-turn is a relatively minor offense — one that human drivers get away with all the time, too.
“I guarantee that the Waymo drives better than the majority of people commenting here,” said Michael Jobes.