During a special operation to catch drunk drivers, police officers in San Bruno pulled over a car that had no one behind the wheel. The autonomous vehicle, which is a car that drives itself without a human driver, had made an illegal U-turn at a traffic light.

The car was a Waymo, which is the most popular self-driving taxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area. These white cars are easy to recognize on the streets. A post that the San Bruno police department shared on Saturday showed an officer looking into the empty Waymo after stopping it.

“Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’),” the police department wrote in their post.

The department said they had informed Waymo about the problem with their car’s software. They hoped that “the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”

Waymo responded with an official statement. The company explained that their autonomous driving system, called the Waymo Driver, “is designed to respect the rules of the road.” They added: “We are looking into this situation and are committed to improving road safety through our ongoing learnings and experience.”

Last year, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a new law that will help police deal with driverless cars that break traffic rules. The law allows police officers to issue a “notice of noncompliance” if a driverless car violates traffic laws. However, this law won’t go into effect until July 2026. The law also requires companies to set up an emergency phone line that first responders can call 24 hours a day.

Assemblymember Phil Ting from San Francisco introduced the bill after several incidents happened in the city. These incidents included driverless cars blocking traffic, dragging a pedestrian along the street, interfering with firetrucks during emergencies, and entering active crime scenes where police were working.

With the new law, first responders will be able to order a company to move autonomous vehicles out of a specific area. The company will have only two minutes to direct its cars to leave or avoid that area.

Some people thought the police were being too lenient by not punishing the car. In response to these concerns, the San Bruno police department explained again: “There is legislation in the works that will allow officers to issue the company notices.”

Waymo cars started as a project under Google’s X research lab in 2009. The vehicles operate through external cameras and sensors that help them “see” the road and other vehicles. Although the technology is advanced, the company has had its share of problems in the past.

Earlier this year, Waymo had to recall more than 1,200 of its vehicles because of a software issue. The problem was causing the cars to crash into chains, gates and other stationary roadway barriers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the government agency responsible for vehicle safety, also launched an investigation into the company last year. This happened after the agency received 22 reports of Waymo vehicles acting erratically or potentially violating traffic safety laws.

The incident in San Bruno highlights the challenges that law enforcement faces as autonomous vehicles become more common on public roads. While the technology continues to develop, the legal system is still catching up with how to regulate and enforce rules for cars that drive themselves.