California’s Driverless Taxis Can Now Be Ticketed Under New Rules
Summary
California has passed new laws that will let police issue tickets to driverless, autonomous vehicles for moving violations starting in late 2026. Until then, police can only ticket such vehicles for parking violations because current laws require a human driver to issue moving violation tickets.Key Facts
- Waymo’s driverless taxis in San Francisco have received hundreds of parking-related tickets, totaling over $65,000 in fines in 2024.
- Current California traffic laws assume a human driver is responsible, so police cannot ticket moving violations on fully driverless cars without a driver.
- Cities can still ticket parking violations on autonomous vehicles because those are issued to the vehicle or owner.
- California’s new law allowing moving violation tickets on autonomous vehicles takes effect in late 2026.
- Arizona and Texas updated laws earlier to allow police to issue traffic tickets to autonomous vehicle operators as if they are the drivers.
- In Arizona, police regularly stop and ticket Waymo vehicles for traffic violations.
- Texas requires driverless vehicle companies to get approval from the state DMV and follow all traffic laws, with enforcement and penalties starting in May 2026.
- Experts warn that California’s delay in enforcement powers could cause problems as driverless taxi use grows.
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