California to begin ticketing driverless cars that violate traffic laws

Tickets typically go to the driver, so perhaps driverless cars were in a loophole.

I'm certain there was a fight about how to interpret the law, and that driverless cars are not addressed by the law. https://www.businessinsider.com/california-self-driving-cars-avoid-traffic-tickets-speeding-fines-2024-1

They were exempt from moving violation tickets. And they still are. The headline is misleading. The new "ticket" is a notice of noncompliance that the companies can ignore without any penalties.

Robots living without laws in LA

Tickets are intended as a deterrent. It's not like just a cost to do illegal things if you want. With companies as large as Waymo tickets are not a big deal. So instead of issuing tickets, they have agreements with the operators that allows them to drive in the city. If they are breaking too many laws, they lose that agreement which is a much bigger cost than tickets. That's not popular, so now they are adding tickets, I think mainly for PR as it is unlikely to change he behaviour of the cars any faster than is currently happening.

Meanwhile self-driving black limousines were routinely stopped and held at gunpoint

Oh, yeah, it's just a weird thing with the laws. You see, when cars are driverless, cops can't tell if they should treat them like they're white or not

Okay but how does this work? Sure you gotta pay tickets. But if you keep violating traffic laws, eventually you get your license taken away. There's no equivalent to that here.

And they have millions in lobby money.

I mean, who else would

It would have to be the owner of the car to get the ticket. It would need to block re-registration otherwise they wont pay it.

And the company should be subject to points and increased insurance like the humans too

You can’t write a traffic ticket to a vehicle, you have to cite a driver. These companies are operating outside of the traditional framework and that made it difficult for cops to know what to do.

Tech companies are princesses. They get away with murder.

Texas is just now requiring them to be registered...

You could have, and should have triggered Waymo Remote Assistance in the car or it can be done in the app. Would have resolved this issue. (Also a good tip for Waymo in general, some emergency situation like this, you should be triggering Waymo RA)

They already could lose their ability to operate if they don't live up to the requirements of the city and state. The tickets don't change much.

Is generating revenue a purpose?

That's the fun part: if the penalty is only a pitiful fine, then crime just becomes a cost of doing business!

And we should do as is done in some nordic countries - the fine is proportional to the income of the driver.

This is pretty universal even all the way in PA. I'm not that old, but there has been a huge uptick of people on the road who literally just don't care since I've started driving (I mean traffic infractions but also things like tinted to black windows, lifted trucks without fenders and yellow offroad lights always on, modified exhausts, weed clouds coming out the window) and cops do absolutely nothing anymore.

I almost get hit by human drivers every day. People just do not pay attention to pedestrians. At least Waymos don't crowd the cross walk while having a conversation on their phone and they have to follow speed limits.

That's not true. They'll hang out at the bottom of a hill on a wide and safe road during school hours and ticket parents driving 5 mph over the limit to get their kids to class on time.

Here you go Driverless cars are becoming more common in some California cities, but when the autonomous vehicles violate traffic laws, police haven't been able to ticket them - until now. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has announced new regulations on autonomous vehicles (AVs), including a process for police to issue a "notice of AV noncompliance" directly to the car's manufacturer. The new rules, which will go into effect 1 July, are part of a larger 2024 law that imposed deeper regulation on the technology. There have been a number of reports of the cars breaking traffic laws, including during a San Francisco blackout last year. The California DMV is calling the new rules "the most comprehensive AV regulations in the nation". Under the new rules, police can cite AV companies when their vehicles commit moving violations. The rules will also require the companies to respond to calls from police and other emergency officials within 30 seconds, and will issue penalties if their vehicles enter active emergency zones. "California continues to lead the nation in the development and adoption of AV technology, and these updated regulations further demonstrate the state's commitment to public safety," DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a press release. Waymo is one of the main operators of fully self-driving robotaxis in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County, but several companies, including Tesla, also have permits to test their AVs in some California cities. The BBC has contacted Waymo and Tesla for comment. When the vehicles violate traffic laws, some police have been stumped as to how to hold the driverless cars accountable. In an incident last September, police officers in San Bruno - a city south of San Francisco - noticed a Waymo AV making an illegal U-turn at a light directly in front of them, the San Bruno Police Department said at the time. But when officers stopped the car, they were not able to issue a ticket without a driver to give it to. Instead, they contacted the company about the "glitch". In December, a massive blackout in San Francisco left a number of Waymo vehicles stalled in the middle of busy intersections, worsening an already congested traffic situation. San Francisco Fire Department officials have also repeatedly complained about robotaxis getting in the way of emergency responses.

There was a legislative lag.

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