NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Waymo is a reality now here in Nashville and one issue that has surfaced is in regards to how law enforcement handles issuing violations for a vehicle without a human driver.
City leaders have wondered, can an officer even issue a ticket?
The answer is yes, thanks to a new law passed by the state lawmakers.
It's been just over a month since Waymo rideshare vehicles hit the roads in Music City.
And it is fair to say the autonomous vehicles have been met with mixed reactions.
Nashville Vice-Mayor Angie Henderson said navigating the roads in this rapidly growing city can be a challenge for any vehicle— with or without a human driver.
"We have messy, busy streets with traffic and a whole lot of users," Henderson said.
In the past four weeks, Waymos have been caught on camera having some issues navigating Nashville roadways.
Most recently, several of the vehicles became confused waiting in traffic at a train crossing.
A couple Waymos tried to pull out of the lane and ended up blocking vehicles coming the other direction.
To date, there have been no serious injuries or devastating crashes involving Waymo vehicles, but Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell said there certainly have been some traffic snafus.
"Just in a few weeks with a few cars in the roads... we've already seen some difficult scenarios," O'Connell said.
State lawmakers this legislative session passed a bill where police departments can send “a notice of violation or a citation by first class mail to the registered owner of the ADS-operated vehicle.”
And, it “must be sent within 20 business days after the occurrence of the violation.”
So, yes, Waymo vehicles can now be issued traffic citations by mail.
A spokesperson for Waymo issued this statement:
“Waymo takes safety seriously. We were proud to work with Metro Nashville on Senate Bill 2253 [publications.tnsosfiles.com], which explicitly allows police officers to cite autonomous vehicles for traffic violations. The status quo on Nashville’s roads is unacceptable, with over 30 traffic deaths, including 13 pedestrians [wpln.org], so far this year. We are committed to helping Nashville advance its Vision Zero [nashville.gov] goals.”
Waymos are now in 11 cities across the country.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
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