Watch A Self-Driving Car Comically Blow Off A Cop During Traffic Stop

Police in San Francisco got the surprise of their lives when a car they were attempting to pull over had no driver. The driverless taxi owned by Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, was lurking in the night without its headlights on.

Autonomous vehicles are being tested for multiple purposes around the world, for things such as delivery vehicles, freight lines, and taxis. One of the companies looking to cash in on these driverless vehicles, Cruise, is currently testing a driverless taxi service in San Francisco, California. It was one of the company's autonomous vehicles (based on a Chevy Bolt) that caught the attention of a police officer late one night as it was seen driving without its headlights on.

A bystander was kind enough to capture the encounter on their cell phone. The footage shows an officer walking up to the vehicle as it was stopped at a red light. As the officer approached the driver-side window, he noticed there was no driver and started returning to his vehicle. As the officer walked away from the driverless car, the taxi first appeared to be making a run for it.

A tweet by Cruise explained, "Our AV yielded to the police vehicle, then pulled over to the nearest safe location, as intended. An officer contacted Cruise personnel and no citation was issued."

Cruise began allowing members of the public to join a waiting list for its autonomous vehicle taxi service earlier this year. As of right now, the service is being limited to the hours between 10 pm and 6 am as a safety precaution. Riders can choose between two different vehicles, the Cruise First-Generation AV, and the Cruise Origin.
The company has provided local law enforcement and other "first responders" with a YouTube video showing how to handle an encounter with one of its vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with microphones that can identify the sound of a siren, as well as lights on an emergency vehicle, according to the company. It states, "AV can detect lights and sirens so it will come to a stop."

If an emergency worker does encounter a Cruise vehicle, like in the recent video captured by a bystander, officers can call a dedicated phone number to reach the company's "escalation team" before approaching the vehicle. This allows the team to do a number of things remotely, such as unlock the vehicle and ensure the vehicle is in a safe stationary position.