California scrambles to crack down on driverless cars that are immune from most citations

Lawmakers in California are working on legislation to regulate driverless cars that are exempt from most traffic violations.

Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat representing San Francisco's 19th District, told Politico he’ll introduce legislation to increase oversight on self-driving cars. Ting’s expected legislation will allow city police to ticket autonomous vehicles and require accident reports to be shared concurrent with the incident.

TWELVE DAYS OF WEX-MAS: REDISTRICTING FIGHTS THAT BEGAN IN 2023 COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPLICATIONS ON 2024

“There’s no way for law enforcement to pull a [self-driving] vehicle over,” Ting told Politico in a report published Friday. “Someone has got to be liable, right? It’s either got to be an individual or a company.”

While the details of the legislation still need to be straightened out, Ting said he’ll be in discussion with the autonomous vehicle companies, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and other groups to crack down on specific regulations.

A report from NBC Bay Area found police can only issue a citation if a safety driver overseeing operations is inside the autonomous vehicle.

"No citation for a moving violation can be issued if the [autonomous vehicle] is being operated in a driverless mode,” an internal memo obtained by NBC News from San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said. “Technology evolves rapidly and, at times, faster than legislation or regulations can adapt to the changes.”

Police can issue a citation to driverless cars for parking violations, but California law limits ticketing for moving infractions without a safety operator.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Last year, San Francisco approved an expansion of Waymo and Cruise, autonomous vehicle companies that already had more than 500 operating robotaxis. Cruise, the self-driving arm of General Motors, halted its fleet in late October. The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked its permit following an accident in which a Cruise car struck a pedestrian.

Cruise said it plans to relaunch services once the company takes “steps to improve our safety culture” and gain the public’s trust again.