Driverless Cars: You’ll Be Seeing More of Them; But How Do You Conduct a Traffic Stop or Handle an Emergency?

Citing and Control of Autonomous Vehicles
By Robert Phillips
Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

The question may have occurred to you: What is a law enforcement officer to do when a so-called “autonomous (driverless) vehicle” is observed committing a traffic infraction?

If you just flip on your emergency lights and maybe hit it with a short burst from your siren, can you expect the vehicle to pull over? If you somehow get the vehicle stopped, who do you ask for a license, registration and proof of insurance? And then who, if anybody, do you arrest when no such documentation is provided? Are the passengers — who may be wondering what the hell is going on — responsible for the vehicle’s violations?

Fortunately, California’s legislators have prepared for just such a dilemma. As of July 1, 2026, new Vehicle Code § 38751 became effective. Pursuant to this new statutory provision, officers observing an autonomous vehicle violate a traffic offense (or in any other unusual circumstance) can go right to the source: the “manufacturer operating an autonomous vehicle.”

This statute requires the manufacturer to “maintain a dedicated emergency response telephone line that is available for emergency response officials during all hours when an autonomous vehicle is on a public road.” (Veh. Code ....

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