Viral videos, terrifying crashes and baffling trips — but Waymo’s fine stats will enrage critics even more

Waymo robotaxis have escaped a single enforcement notice in Los Angeles during the first month California police were given the power to cite autonomous vehicle companies for traffic violations.

This is despite a string of viral incidents showing the driverless cars blocking roads, trapping motorists and breaking traffic laws.

The new regulations, which took effect July 1, allow law enforcement to issue non-compliance notices to autonomous vehicle manufacturers for traffic offenses.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles championed the move as a way to increase oversight of the driverless car industry, calling the framework “the strongest in the country” and promising it would “help ensure accountability and public safety as the AV industry continues to grow in California.”

So far, though, police have shown little appetite for using their new powers — unless Waymo robotaxis really are better behaved than their viral reputation suggests.

The California Post can reveal DMV records show the Los Angeles Police Department did not issue a single non-compliance notice to Waymo LLC or any other robotaxi company in the first month of the new regulations.

While Waymo robotaxis did not receive a non-compliance notice over the last four weeks in Los Angeles, their track record does not paint the autonomous vehicles as perfect drivers.

In May, a woman was trapped in her vehicle for nearly 50 minutes after two Waymos cut her off and refused to move at a traffic light, forcing her to call 911.

She was only freed after one of the Waymos reversed, giving her enough space to drive out with the assistance of another motorist.

The month before, a Waymo went off-script by entering a restaurant drive-thru the wrong way before picking up a passenger. The incident was caught on camera and quickly went viral.

Meanwhile, Waymos outside Los Angeles do not appear to be any better.

One commuter filmed a Waymo Ojai — the newer light-blue model — obstructing traffic by stopping for a lengthy period across bike and driving lanes at what they described as “arguably the busiest” intersection in San Diego.

“First time seeing one operating fully autonomously without driver. Stuck blocking lanes and systems fully confused on what is arguably the busiest pedestrian, cyclist and car traffic (intersection),” they commented.

The lack of enforcement against autonomous vehicles is a source of frustration for rideshare companies including Uber and Lyft, which were scrutinized and slapped with $20,000 fines for violations of the Public Utilities Code, including operating as passenger carriers without authorization, during their first few years of operation.

Rideshare drivers have also received thousands of traffic tickets.

In 2017, San Francisco police handed out 2,600 traffic citations to drivers in downtown San Francisco between April and June.

Of that figure, 1,700 were given to rideshare drivers for violations including illegally driving in bus lanes, obstructing traffic and making illegal U-turns.

While a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found Waymos were involved in fewer crashes than human drivers, there have been at least 1,356 incidents involving the autonomous vehicle brand on California roads during the past five years.

Overall, almost 8% of Waymo crashes in California have left pedestrians, passengers and people in other vehicles with possible injuries, according to the DMV Autonomous Vehicle Crash Dashboard.

Earlier this year, a collision involving a passenger vehicle on West Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles just before 5:54 p.m. left one person with suspected minor injuries.

Manufacturers testing autonomous vehicles must report every collision involving one of their cars that results in property damage, bodily injury or death to the DMV.

But not all incidents are made public on the DMV’s website because only collisions with address information are reported on its map.

Last year saw the largest number of incidents, potentially because of more Waymo vehicles flooding California’s roads, with 589 reported collisions recorded.

San Francisco topped the list of California cities with the most incidents, recording 848 reported Waymo collisions during the past five years.

Los Angeles followed with 344, Santa Monica with 28, Culver City and Inglewood with 16 each, and Mountain View with 12.

Waymo users have flooded social media with mixed reviews since the autonomous vehicle company began commercial operations in California, starting in San Francisco in August 2023.

While some have praised the vehicles’ convenience, sense of safety, privacy and cleanliness, others have vowed never to use them again after the cars drove off with their luggage or groceries in the trunk, dropped them in unsafe areas or left them fearing the possibility of a computer error.

Waymo currently operates on local roads across Los Angeles and San Francisco and has resumed freeway driving trials that were previously paused after the cars failed to recognize highway construction zones.

The vehicles drove through cones and past ramp closures.

The California Post has contacted Waymo and the LAPD for comment.

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