San Francisco Police officers were left baffled recently when they pulled over a self-driving taxi and it took off on them.
In a video posted earlier this month that went viral over the weekend, an autonomous Cruise driverless car can be seen being pulled over by police officers during a nighttime stop.
The officer reportedly approached the vehicle because its headlights were off. He attempted to open the driver’s door, evidently shocked that there wasn’t anyone inside the car.
When he walks back to the police car, the Cruise car drives off further down the road and it is once again pulled over.
‘Ain’t nobody in it, this is crazy,’ a man can be heard saying in the video posted on April 1.
‘Are you serious? How does that happen? I’m going to have to watch this,’ another dumbfounded bystander adds.
After the incident, Cruise, a General Motors autonomous subsidiary that introduced the driverless cars earlier this year in the Golden City, said police contacted a twenty-four-seven-functioning line for such instances.
The company also said that the vehicle operated as expected and no citations were issued by authorities.
‘…our AV yielded to the police vehicle, then pulled over to the nearest safe location for the traffic stop, as intended. An officer contacted Cruise personnel and no citation was issued,’ the company said in a statement.
‘We work closely with the SFPD on how to interact with our vehicles, including a dedicated phone number for them to call in situations like this.’
In a video posted on April 1, San Francisco Police officers are left baffled when they attempt to stop a self-driving car and it drives off. San Francisco Police officers reportedly approached the vehicle because its headlights were off
When the officer walks back to the police car, the Cruise car drives off further down the road and it is once again pulled over
After the incident, Cruise, an General Motors autonomous subsidiary that introduced the driverless cars earlier this year in the Golden City, said police contacted a twenty-four-seven-functioning line for such instances
The company also said that the vehicle operated as expected and no citations were issued by authorities
Twitter users rushed to share their opinions about the bizarre incident. Some blamed the company, saying the situation could have ended up badly for a pedestrian.
‘Hook up a photocell to the lights. Maybe Radio Shack can set you up, Twitter user Lars Larson advised.
Another user commented: ‘The car didn’t seem to communicate to the officers it’s intention to drive on. And what if a [civilian] needed to stop your car for some reason? How would you resolve this issue in the future?’
‘The company should have been cited for no headlights and then again for blocking the roadway. It never did make it out of the lane of travel. It just kind of pointed itself towards the curb and stopped,’ Shaun also Callahan said.
Autonomous vehicle taxis have been up and running in San Francisco since February.
General Motors and Cruise employees tested out the service for weeks, before it was officially introduced. The cars each have unique monikers, including ‘Tostada,’ ‘Disco’ and ‘Sourdough.’
In a February blog post, Interim Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said the company is the first to offer driverless taxis in a major US city and that the milestone triggered a $1.35 billion investment from Softbank, which had already put $900 million into the company.
Cruise self-driving cars are allowed to operate only on select roads from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., at speeds of up to 60 mph
Vogt said the additional capital will allow the company to grow its workforce and scale up the driverless technology in San Francisco and into other cities.
Cruise says it is the only autonomous vehicle company permitted to offer rides to the public in driverless cars.
The cars are allowed to operate only on select roads from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., at speeds of up to 60 mph.
They’re not allowed to operate during heavy fog or heavy rain.