California Tightens Robotaxi Rules With Fines for Blocking Emergency Crews

California has introduced a fresh set of rules aimed at the autonomous vehicle industry, and this time the focus is on what happens when robotaxis get in the way of emergency workers. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1246 into law, creating penalties for AV operators whose vehicles obstruct police, firefighters or other first responders for longer than half an hour.

The legislation puts new obligations on companies that run driverless fleets. They must maintain on-the-ground support staff to handle accidents and disabled vehicles, and they are required to keep local authorities informed about the locations and status of their vehicles whenever a system-wide failure occurs. Remote drivers, meanwhile, will have to be based in the United States and hold a valid U.S. driver’s license — a measure meant to tighten oversight of how companies supervise their vehicles from afar.

Concerns behind the bill grew steadily over the past year. A series of widely reported incidents in California saw robotaxis stall in traffic, interfere with emergency scenes or otherwise impede first responders. Most of those episodes involved Waymo, the country’s largest robotaxi operator, which maintains roughly 4,000 autonomous vehicles in its commercial fleet nationwide, including about 1,200 in the San Francisco Bay Area. State Senator Dave Cortese, who authored the bill, framed the measure as a way to keep innovation from coming at the cost of public safety.

Waymo and Zoox have both indicated they will follow the new requirements, with a Waymo spokesperson saying the company remains committed to improving road safety in California. Enforcement will not begin immediately — the law takes effect in July 2028, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles will be responsible for drafting guidelines on certain details, such as required response times.