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Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2025 11:55 pm
by Joe Guy
Police stumped when Waymo makes illegal U-turn in San Bruno
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - San Bruno police said they were stumped when an autonomous Waymo car made an illegal U-turn during a DUI enforcement operation.
In a Facebook post on Saturday with the audio of Rhianna's "Shut up and Drive," police said that they recently observed something unusual.
A driverless car, which they didn't name, but is a Waymo, made an illegal U-turn in front of them at a light, presumably to avoid the DUI checkpoint.
"That’s right… no driver, no hands, no clue," the post read.
Officers stopped the car and contacted the company to let them know about the "glitch."
A photo shows a police officer bent over the driver's window looking at no one inside.
Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued, and police added snarkily: "Our citation books don’t have a box for robot."
Police didn't say what happened next, like if they sent the Waymo on its merry way or if company officials apologized or would pay a fine.
But hopefully, police wrote, the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.
San Bruno police wrote that for those who believe that the officers were being lenient, there is legislation in the works that will allow police to issue the company notices.
In a statement to KTVU, Waymo said that it's autonomous driving system, the Waymo Driver, is designed to respect the rules of the road.
"We are looking into this situation and are committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience," the statement said.
source
Witnesses say a police officer performed a field sobriety test on the Waymo vehicle and it had a BAC of 1.40%.
It was taken into custody and is currently being held on bail at the San Bruno jail
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 1:25 am
by Scooter
So police stopped a driverless car that they suspected of DUI? What behaviour was the car exhibiting that made them suspect the (absent) driver of being drunk? Or were they stopping cars for no reason hoping to fish for infractions?
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 1:56 am
by Crackpot
I think it has more to do with why such a car would avoid a checkpoint and what that may say about the training data used.
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 2:03 am
by Joe Guy
Scooter wrote: ↑Mon Sep 29, 2025 1:25 am
So police stopped a driverless car that they suspected of DUI? What behaviour was the car exhibiting that made them suspect the (absent) driver of being drunk? Or were they stopping cars for no reason hoping to fish for infractions?
We occasionally have what are called, "DUI checkpoints" around here. The date and locations are announced ahead of time. Police randomly choose passing cars and direct them into a designate area where they interview the drivers and check their driver's license, registration and insurance and test them when they suspect they are impaired. This car obviously picked the wrong place to make an illegal U-turn.
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 12:55 pm
by Sue U
Joe Guy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 28, 2025 11:55 pm
Witnesses say a police officer performed a field sobriety test on the Waymo vehicle and it had a BAC of 1.40%.
It was taken into custody and is currently being held on bail at the San Bruno jail
Gassing up with the ethanol, obvs.
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 1:36 pm
by Big RR
Damn; and here I thought if I chose to drink gasohol I was fine on the breathalyzer.
Re: Waymo Than Expected....
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 4:20 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
I wonder if it was a "glitch". It could be a marketing point - "Police checkpoint detected? Your vehicle will turn around and avoid it. No need for embarrassing questions about those AK-like gardening tools or bags of recently legally withdrawn cash somehow stained with dye"
Guess they didn't consider the illegality of u-turns in some states/places - just run away from da cops.