California police can now issue tickets to driverless cars

Self-driving cars on California roads will no longer have traffic tickets as of July 1. New rules announced by the California DMV this week will allow law enforcement to issue AV manufacturers with a “non-AV notification” when their vehicle violates the law, such as running a red light or failing to stop for school buses.

The revised rules come after years breaking traffic viruses and more security research related to robotics. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is also available is being investigated for running a red light and driving the wrong way. Now, driverless car companies can be cited for this harassment, especially in California.

California’s new laws could also help keep driverless cars off the road in an emergency, if event in San Francisco last year when Waymos blocked traffic during power outages. AV companies are now required to respond to first responder calls within 30 seconds and must allow emergency responders to “issue electronic geofencing instructions,” which will block AVs from entering dangerous areas. Any driverless car already in the area must take off.

The new rules also allow AV companies to experiment with deploy heavy duty autonomous vehicles and includes “license and permit requirements and training for remote drivers and assistants.”