California Cops Will Start Giving Tickets to Driverless Cars
Key takeaways
- When the new law takes effect on July 1, police officers will soon be writing tickets to self-driving cars that cause traffic violations.
- A new bill in California will create a process to allow cops to cite driverless cars for traffic infractions, as reported by Road & Track.
- California State Assembly Bill 1777 will go into effect on July 1, 2026, and give police officers a process for citing driverless cars that break the traffic laws.
Why this matters: an automotive development that could shape industry direction or buying decisions.
When the new law takes effect on July 1, police officers will soon be writing tickets to self-driving cars that cause traffic violations.
Justin Sullivan|Getty Images. A new bill in California will create a process to allow cops to cite driverless cars for traffic infractions, as reported by Road & Track. California State Assembly Bill 1777 will go into effect on July 1, 2026, so operators like Zoox and Waymo may soon face tickets for violations caused by self-driving vehicles. The bill also includes additional regulations surrounding autonomous vehicle operation in relation to emergency response or other closed-off areas.What's the opposite of a RoboCop? Human officers writing tickets to driverless cars? While Hollywood producers probably won't be lining up to buy a screenplay of the latter, that scene could soon be playing out across California. A new bill introduced to the state assembly will create a process to allow law enforcement officers to cite autonomous vehicles for traffic violations, as reported by Road & Track.
California State Assembly Bill 1777 will go into effect on July 1, 2026, and give police officers a process for citing driverless cars that break the traffic laws. Specifically, Bill 1777 will allow officers to issue "notices of autonomous vehicle noncompliance" and to mark the "date, time, and location of the alleged violation, and the license plate number of the vehicle."