Cop pulls Waymo over for a left turn in the wrong lane. No one’s driving the car getting ticketed
As self-driving cars are making their way onto streets across the country, one question is on a lot of people’s minds: when the car messes up, who is at fault?
This isn’t a hypothetical question. While people in the artificial intelligence field have been claiming for years that driverless cars are safer than manned ones, there are numerous documented incidents of driverless cars breaking traffic laws and, occasionally, putting their passengers in danger.
For example, one driverless car went viral after accidentally driving into wet concrete in San Francisco; other, more serious incidents have included multiple collisions involving driverless cars, including one where a driverless car collided with an active fire truck.
So, when one of these cars does something in error, who is at fault? That’s what a recent TikTok video has people wondering.
Why did this cop pull over a Waymo car?
In a TikTok video posted by user @kiefer_d_live, which has since been reposted to Reddit, a man can be seen stuck behind a Waymo driverless vehicle. After a few seconds, he gets out of the car to confront the driver, only to discover that the car has no driver.
Frustrated, the man slaps the Waymo vehicle and returns to his own. The Waymo then makes a problematic left turn, at which point it is stopped by a police officer. Given the brief length of the video, it is unclear what caused the original incident, though the police officer appears to have pulled the car over for making a left turn while in the wrong lane.
This isn’t the first time that a Waymo vehicle has been cited. In 2024, Waymo’s Robotaxis received over 600 parking tickets and other citations in San Francisco, resulting in fines of over $65,000; Waymo says that they have paid the citations and are improving the cars to avoid future incidents.
However, Waymo vehicles in California have not received any moving violations for issues like the one shown in the video, because they legally can’t.
As reported by the Washington Post in March 2025, autonomous vehicles in California cannot be issued moving violations, as these citations require a human driver. This will change starting in July 2026, after a new law allows peace officers to issue “notices of autonomous vehicle noncompliance” to companies operating self-driving cars when traffic laws are broken.
@kiefer_d_live G-Wagon owner smacks a #Waymo for causing traffic on Rodeo Drive, then #BHPD pulls it over ???? Does the cop just drop the ticket in the front seat? #tiktoklive #livehighlights #kieferdixon ♬ Chicken Chase - FSL Music
Internet users react
While some may be startled by videos like these making the rounds, the internet’s reaction to this incident, especially given that no one was injured, has primarily been one of humor. Still, some users shared their thoughts about Waymo vehicles getting pulled over in general.
“Driving-based businesses in big cities basically always rack up massive numbers of parking citations. Couriers, conventional taxis, limousines, etc—all double park all the time,” said one Reddit user. “UPS and FedEx exceeded $1M between them this last year in San Francisco.” The latter statement is true, according to the San Francisco Standard.
“No one’s in there, but cops talk to the representatives. I’ve seen a few Waymos be pulled over now,” noted a TikTok commenter.
“ELI5 if I need a driver's license to be on the road, how does a self-driving car go on the road without one?” questioned another Reddit comment.
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