California police can start ticketing driverless cars this July

(NewsNation) — Driverless cars have become increasingly popular in California over the past couple of years, and beginning July 1, police in the state will be able to ticket manufacturers for traffic violations. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued a release announcing the adoption of new rules for autonomous vehicles, in compliance with a 2024 law that expanded oversight of the technology, Nexstar local affiliate KTLA reports. Under the new rules, California police officers will be able to issue traffic tickets to driverless cars and require manufacturers to move them out of the way during emergencies. Law enforcement will be able to issue a “Notice of AV Noncompliance” directly to manufacturers when the vehicles commit violations, according to the release. Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has already deployed its driverless taxi services in and around several major cities across the country, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Califonria DMV’s new regulations aim to address the frustrations of state officials and residents as driverless cars become more mainstream. These rules come just months after a massive outage in San Francisco in December that left several Waymo cars stalled at city intersections without functioning stoplights. Reports of unruly Waymos As of April 24, 2026, the California DMV says it has received 978 reports of autonomous vehicle collisions dating back to 2014. In late 2025, a self-driving Waymo made an illegal U-turn at a traffic light right in front of police officers in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno. Nexstar local affiliate KXAN reports that a video recorded during a storm in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, showed several autonomous Waymo vehicles driving into a flooded stretch and stopping in the middle of the roadway. A 2025 investigation from KXAN found that Waymo’s vehicles illegally passed school buses with their stop arms out in Austin, Texas. Atlanta Public Schools said it recorded at least six similar stop-arm violations between May and December. In March, Waymo said that, based on more than 170 million miles of autonomous driving, “regardless of fault, the Waymo Driver was involved in 92 percent fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries than human drivers in the same driving conditions.” Additional regulations The California DMV has issued additional regulations for self-driving vehicles, including requiring manufacturers to conduct more extensive testing to obtain permits, adding new training and other requirements for employees who assist in remotely operating the vehicles and mandating the collection and reporting of data on safety-related incidents. “California continues to lead the nation in the development and adoption of AV technology, and these updated regulations further demonstrate the state’s commitment to public safety,” DMV Director Steve Gordon wrote in a statement. “These updates support the growth of the AV industry by enhancing public safety and transparency while adding additional accountability for AV manufacturers,” Gordon added. More information about California’s new regulations can be found here. NewsNation’s Xavier Walton, local Nexstar affiliates KTLA and KXAN and The Hill contributed to this report.