Ambitious futurists like Elon Musk predict that in the near future, traffic accidents and infractions will be a thing of the past thanks to robotaxis and autonomous cars.
However, the present day is not the future. Many of cars out on the roads of the United States are still operated by humans with flesh and blood, and sometimes the roads they drive on are less than ideal for comfortable and effortless driving.
Companies like General Motors-backed (GM) Cruise and Google-backed (GOOGL) Waymo are providing a glimpse into the future of mobility with their robotaxi services, but recently released police bodycam footage reveals that the technology of the future may be a bit incompatible with today's infrastructure.
Police in Phoenix, Arizona, recently released bodycam footage of a seemingly routine traffic stop that occurred on June 19. One of its officers pulled over a white Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV belonging to Waymo after witnessing it veer into oncoming lanes of traffic.
However, when the windows rolled down, no driver was in sight; only a voice from a Waymo driver support employee could be heard communicating with the officer through the car's onboard telecoms tech.
“So your car here drove into oncoming lanes of traffic,” the officer explained to the Waymo employee through the car, who said they'd check it on their computer.
No footage is available of the incident that triggered the traffic stop, but the officer explained to a passer-by that the Waymo drove into oncoming traffic at a construction zone, and "freaked out" when he tried flashed his lights and sirens.
"I light [the police cruiser] up and [the Waymo] takes off into the intersection," the officer explained to the passer-by with a chuckle.
At the end of the footage, a Waymo roadside assistant came to the aid of the car. According to police dispatch records reviewed by the Arizona Republic, the traffic stop resulted without any tickets issued, with the officer initiating the stop noting it was “unable to issue citation to computer.”
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Who gets in trouble? Who gets a ticket?
A December 2023 NBC News report revealed that in Texas and Arizona, robotaxi companies like Waymo and Cruise can be fined if its vehicles break traffic laws. The same is not true in California, as its traffic laws explicitly state that a driver has to be present for an infraction to occur.
For this specific incident, Phoenix Police told local Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV (FOX 10) that it has the ability to cite Waymo for traffic violations, but is something that they don't do very often. Additionally, they state that its officers are trained to deal with autonomous vehicles, and that Waymo makes their jobs a lot easier than what the public assumes.
"Waymo also makes it very easy for law enforcement to simply press the help button, and get connected immediately to a 24/7 service member that will be able to talk them through moving the vehicle off the road, finding the insurance information, and whatever information the officer needs for their investigation," Phoenix Police Sgt. Brian Bower told the news station.
Phoenix Police also told the Arizona Republic that in the event that a Waymo passenger is in a vehicle that gets pulled over, they should cooperate with the authorities and follow instructions from the vehicle's operator, whether dialed in or those at the scene.
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