A Waymo robotaxi was caught being pulled over by police officers in Phoenix, Arizona in the latest incident of driverless cars being involved in traffic violations.
The incident originally occurred on June 19, but it was only this week that bodycam footage of the law enforcement confrontation was made public. The footage was first reported in the Arizona Republic.
In the video, officers were shown contacting Waymo's built-in report system telling them that one of their cars "drove into oncoming lanes of traffic," including one construction area, as well as several "opposing lanes of traffic."
The police officer even stated that the car drove off even after the police vehicle "lighted" the signal for the robotaxi to stop.
A Waymo spokesperson later clarified to TechCrunch that the robotaxi only took about 30 seconds and no passenger was aboard the car during the incident.
It remains unclear if the incident is included in the reported 22 road accidents and traffic violations involving Waymo robotaxis that prompted federal investigations on the Alphabet-owned company.
Waymo, Driverless Cars Face Federal Scrutiny
Waymo is not the only driverless ride-sharing service currently facing federal scrutiny amid the growing number of road accidents and violations involving their robotaxis.
Aside from Waymo, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into the Amazon-owned Zoox after two of its cars "unexpectedly braked suddenly."
This follows after the NHTSA launched a separate probe on Ford's and Tesla's driverless features after the assistant systems were reported to collide with stationary vehicles.
Amid investigations, Waymo has issued several software patches and system recalls as reports of crashes into stationary objects continue to rise.
Related Article : Waymo Issues Software Patch After Another Robotaxi Crashed
Concerns on Driverless Cars Rise Amid Road Accidents
As regulators open investigationd on robotaxi services, more people have also started expressing concerns about the vehicles and their safety.
As The Verge has reported, more autonomous vehicle associations have begun urging robotaxi services to interact more with the public to address concerns.
Despite growing public doubt, Waymo is continuing to expand its operations across California, Texas, and Arizona after it received state regulatory approval.
Even Cruise, which was previously suspended after one of its cars dragged a pedestrian 20 feet, has resumed operations, although with human assistant drivers this time.
