In October, it was named one of the best inventions of 2025 by Time magazine, which lauded Waymo as a potential solution to traffic fatalities. Unlike people, the Waymo Driver doesn’t get distracted by a cell phone or fall asleep behind the wheel.

Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing service that launched in 2009, says its AI-powered Waymo Driver could be the solution. Waymo’s more than 2,000 cars have completed more than 10 million trips in San Francisco,

Waymo, the company delivering autonomous ridesharing services, is now operational in several U.S. cities. It's more expensive than Uber and Lyft, though.

No driver, no hands, no clue,” the San Bruno, Calif., police department said after the stop. “Our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot.’ ”

Through the vehicle’s built-in communication system, officers reached Waymo representatives and reported the violation. With no driver present, however, no ticket was issued. In San Mateo County, an illegal U-turn violation can carry fines of $200 to $300 or more, depending on the circumstances.

Today, the biggest player in the self-driving car space—at least among robotaxis—is Waymo, which has had services running in various cities around the nation since 2017. The ride-hailing service expanded into a more publicly available realm in recent years after starting out with more limited ridership,