A driverless car operated by Waymo is under scrutiny after it was caught on video illegally passing a stopped school bus that was letting children off in Atlanta, reported WBIR News.
The incident occurred Monday afternoon and was recorded by a woman who witnessed the incident. Georgia state Rep. Clint Crowe said he was shocked after seeing the footage.
“I’m a big fan of new technologies and emerging technologies, and I think driverless cars are going to become more common,” Crowe said. “But we have to think about how they’re going to comply with the law.”
According to the news report, Crowe co-sponsored Addy’s Law in 2024, which was named after 8-year-old Addy Pierce. Pierce was killed in Henry County after being hit while crossing the street to get to her school bus. The law increased penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus, with fines up to $1,000 and possible jail time.
Crowe emphasized that these laws also apply to autonomous vehicles.
“The majority of our traffic laws come with penalties like fines or driver’s license suspension,” he explained via the article. “These cars don’t have drivers or licenses, so we really have to rethink who is responsible. Who’s in control of the vehicle? Who is the operator?”
Crowe said he believes automobile manufacturers should face stronger consequences when their autonomous vehicles break the law, saying the current $1,000 fine isn’t enough. Other lawmakers agree.
“Driverless cars should be stopped until it can be figured out,” said State Sen. Rick Williams, one of the authors of Addy’s Law. “We should not have this on the road. It’s too dangerous for our children” he said via the article.
Williams said he plans to introduce new legislation that would increase penalties on driverless car companies when their vehicles violate traffic laws. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.
Waymo said in a statement via the article that “the trust and safety of the communities we serve is our top priority. We continuously refine our system’s performance to navigate complex scenarios and are looking into this further.”
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