On Tuesday, Waymo formally launched its self-driving cars in Denver. The boxy blue cars are engineered to follow all traffic laws and keep passengers safe.
But just like their human counterparts, sometimes they misbehave.
“We have been ticketed and pay them like any other driver,” Waymo spokesman Chris Bonelli said.
But that won’t be the case in Colorado.
“If there’s no driver, there currently isn’t a mechanism within state law for issuing a citation,” a Denver Police Department spokesperson said in an email.
A Denver police training bulletin sent out in early July, and obtained by BusinessDen, details how officers are supposed to handle the vehicles when no one is behind the wheel.
“Waymo vehicles are designed to safely pull over when they detect a police or emergency vehicle behind them with activated lights. Once stopped, the vehicle will remain stationary for the duration of the contact,” the memo reads. “After stopping, the vehicle will unlock its doors and lower its windows so a Waymo representative can communicate directly with the officer.”
Officers can also use QR codes on the driver/passenger windows or the dispatch button on the center console to reach a Waymo representative.
“Autonomous vehicles may experience technical issues that cause erratic or unresponsive behavior,” the memo reads, telling officers they should notify their supervisor and contact Waymo to disable the vehicle.
The memo also says that Waymo fires could release toxic vapors and officers are prohibited from attempting to extinguish them unless “essential for immediate life-saving rescue.”
Copies of the car’s registration, insurance and owner information are stored in the sun visors, according to the memo. In the event of a crash, officers are instructed to leave the driver information section of their report blank. There is a separate box to report a vehicle as being self-driving.
A search warrant is required to obtain data such as passenger history and interior camera footage, which the memo says is otherwise deleted after 24 hours.
Waymo has dozens of cars in Denver and will add more, according to Bonelli. The company has been testing its vehicles with drivers and then without passengers for months.
Waymo has been involved in one local crash, last week along Eighth Avenue near Denver Health. The vehicle was rear-ended and was not at fault, police told Westword.
“We report all qualifying collisions, regardless of fault, to NHTSA under its Standing General Order, which are publicly available. To lead the industry in transparency, we also publicly share our safety data and make it fully available and replicable for researchers,” Bonelli said.
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