A Big Headache for Police: Getting Driverless Cars to Obey Traffic Laws

> Tesla’s coming Cybercab, a two-door, two-seat car without a steering wheel or pedals, seems built for this. It can respond to hand signals from a police officer, according to a document Tesla published in June. Waymo vehicles are also programmed to pull over at the sight of a cop car’s lights, and they offer a means to speak with a human representative of their companies.

I wonder how they determine what a police person should look like. Do they respond to FBI or other federal law enforcement? Plainclothes officers with badges? Not that humans are infallible in this regard, but it seems like a tricky thing to get machines to do, especially if the machine is to then obey whatever orders are given by the officer. If a cop tells a Waymo to drive off a bridge, presumably it wouldn't do it? But what if the Waymo was empty and an ambulance needed to get past in order to rush the occupant to the hospital?