The police did not issue a citation.
Driverless cars promise a bright future. But, until all bugs are fixed, there will be some unexpected situations. This was captured in a viral video that was posted to Instagram this weekend. It shows how San Francisco police tried to pull over a Chevy bolt that didn’t have its lights on. The Bolt was a Cruise self-driving car and didn’t have any driver.
The video shows the bolt giving way to the cruiser. The officer steps out, looking into the Bolt’s windows before pulling the handle. The Bolt doesn’t open and the officer walks back to the cruiser. The Bolt drives through the intersection, before pulling over to the side and activating the flashing hazards lights. It is followed by officers.
Cruise replied on Twitter to the video. He stated that the Bolt worked as expected, first yielding to an emergency vehicle, then pulling over properly once engaged. Cruise’s tweet stated that the company collaborates closely with the San Francisco Police Department to determine how to engage its vehicles in such situations. Cruise provides police with a dedicated number to call. Cruise claims that cruise told Cruise that police reached out to company personnel regarding the car and did not issue a ticket.
The legal grey area surrounding who is responsible when an autonomous vehicle or car equipped with advanced driver assistance systems is in violation of the law or involved in a collision could be a problem. It is possible for the US courts to create a patchwork regulation that could complicate adoption of AVs if legislators fail to make it clear.
Mercedes is leading the charge. Last month, it announced that it would accept legal liability for its SAE level 3 Drive Pilot system which allows for hands-off driving. Mercedes recognizes that there will be obstacles, such as negotiating laws state-by-state. This is indicative of the difficulties autonomous cars will face over the next years as automakers work to implement the technology.