Cops Pulled Over a Car… With No Driver Inside
Picture this: you’re rolling up to a DUI checkpoint late on a Friday night. The red-and-blue lights are flashing, cops are waving cars through, and everyone’s on edge about breathalyzers. Then, out of nowhere, a sleek white Jaguar I-Pace glides up. But here’s the kicker—there’s nobody behind the wheel.
That’s what went down in San Bruno, California, when police spotted a Waymo self-driving car casually making an illegal U-turn near the Caltrain station. Naturally, they pulled it over. What they found was… nothing. No nervous driver fumbling for an excuse, no awkward license-and-registration moment—just empty seats and a steering wheel that might as well have been haunted.
The San Bruno PD took the whole thing in stride, even poking fun on social media: “No driver, no hands, no clue. Our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot.’” Turns out, they weren’t joking. Under California law, moving violations can’t be pinned on autonomous cars. In short, the Waymo got away scot-free. No ticket, no fine—just a quiet call to Waymo’s operations team, who now have to make sure their robo-chariot doesn’t pull the same stunt again.
Also read: Sixth-Gen Camaro Ends in Flames After Wild Police Chase
But here’s the real kicker: this isn’t just a funny “gotcha” moment. It shines a bright LED headlamp on a messy question we’ll keep running into—what happens when driverless cars break the rules? If a human makes an illegal U-turn, they’re fined. If a robot does it, well… who’s to blame? The software? The company? The AI that thought it was being cheeky?
For now, it’s all a gray zone. Lawmakers haven’t caught up, cops don’t have a playbook, and autonomous cars are multiplying. Today, it’s a harmless U-turn. Tomorrow? Imagine one rolling through a red light or worse, being part of an accident.
As car fans, we love technology, and we geek out over EVs and autonomous systems. But stories like this remind us that the road ahead isn’t just about horsepower and range—it’s about laws, accountability, and the very human idea of responsibility.
Image source - San Bruno Police Department's Post on Facebook (post embedded)
