Can a cop pull over a Waymo?

What the vehicle does when pulled over

Waymo vehicles are designed to:

1. Detect emergency vehicle lights and sirens via the multi-modal sensor stack (lidar, cameras, audio).
2. Pull over safely when an emergency vehicle signals or directs the Waymo to stop.
3. Yield to emergency vehicles approaching at speed in normal traffic.

This isn't theoretical — police interactions with Waymo vehicles have been documented in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and Waymo has published guidance for first responders on how to interact with the vehicle.

What the officer interacts with

When a Waymo is pulled over:

• Exterior screens display basic information and can show messages to officers.
• A Waymo support phone number is posted on the vehicle. Officers call to reach Waymo's operations team directly — within seconds.
• Remote assistance can communicate with the officer in real time and provide vehicle state, trip details, and any other information the officer needs.
• A field-response team can be dispatched if the situation requires a physical Waymo representative on scene.

Who gets the ticket

Because there is no human driver in a Waymo during commercial service (see is Waymo actually driverless), the legal mechanics of "ticketing the driver" don't apply. Instead:

• Waymo as the operator is the responsible party for vehicle-violation tickets.
• State and city traffic codes are evolving to accommodate this. Some jurisdictions have explicit AV-operator-liability provisions; others handle it under existing fleet-vehicle frameworks.
• For criminal matters involving a rider (e.g., if a rider committed a crime), the rider is the responsible party — not Waymo.

The 2024 SFPD memo and similar guidance

Police departments in the metros where Waymo operates have published or internally distributed guidance for officers on how to interact with autonomous vehicles. The general pattern:

• Call the posted Waymo number first for routine pull-overs.
• Use the exterior screens for basic identification.
• Coordinate with Waymo's operations team for any escalation.

The procedures continue to evolve as the AV fleet population grows.

What about pulling over for non-routine reasons?

The handling differs by purpose:

• Routine traffic stops (minor violations, equipment): Waymo pulls over, officer interacts via phone/screens.
• Suspicious activity reports (e.g., a complaint about a rider's behavior): Waymo coordinates with the responding officer to address the rider while the vehicle stays parked.
• Active crime in progress: handled through Waymo's emergency channel with rapid coordination.
• Crashes and emergencies: see what happens if a Waymo gets in an accident.

Has it ever NOT worked?

There have been a handful of documented incidents where Waymo vehicles did not respond as expected to police signaling — for example, briefly leaving a stop before officers were finished with the interaction. Waymo treats these as software issues to be analyzed and patched. They are uncommon but not zero; Waymo and law enforcement continue to refine the interaction patterns.

Bottom line

Yes — police can pull over a Waymo, and the vehicle will respond. The interaction protocol involves the exterior screens, a posted phone number, and Waymo's remote operations team. Ticketing flows to Waymo as the operator, not to an individual driver — because there is no individual driver.

For the broader question of liability when something goes wrong, see who is at fault if a driverless car crashes.