SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police made an unusual traffic stop recently when an officer pulled over a driverless car.Video obtained by KTVU shows an officer walking to what would be the driver-side window of a Cruise car only to find that no one was at the steering wheel.After the car came to a stop and the officer walks back to the patrol car, the Cruise vehicle drives ahead through the intersection before pulling to the side again and turning on its hazard lights.Cruise said its car rolled forward to find a safer place to stop."Our AV [autonomous vehicle] yielded to the police vehicle, then pulled over to the nearest safe location for the traffic stop, as intended," Cruise tweeted.FLASHBACK: Man seen riding in the back seat of Tesla with no driver on Bay Area roadsOnlookers can be seen and heard reveling in the scene on Clement Street in the Richmond neighborhood.
The video was posted to Instagram on April 1."Ain't nobody in it," one man is heard saying."Oh my god, I have to watch this," says a woman.
Such stops could foreshadow what happens as more autonomous vehicles take to the streets.The officer did not issue a ticket, Cruise said.
San Francisco police have not responded to KTVU's inquiries. AdvertisementCruise began offering free rides to passengers in their robotic cars earlier this year. .