By Kristin J. Bender
Bay Area News Group
SAN FRANCISCO — A Waymo self-driving car interrupted Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade on Friday night in San Francisco, with police on patrol stepping in and driving the vehicle away from the scene.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, was in the city staying overnight at the Fairmont Hotel before a campaign fundraiser at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts Saturday afternoon.
ABC7 first reported the news that the robotaxi failed to make a U-turn on California Street, stopping the vice president’s motorcade. San Francisco police officers who were in the area quickly intervened and the problem was resolved, a department spokesperson said Monday.
Waymo did not return emails seeking comment Monday.
The incident isn’t the first time a Waymo driverless vehicle has caused a problem in San Francisco.
In February, a Waymo car hit a bicyclist in Potrero Hill. The cyclist was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Waymo reportedly claimed the collision occurred because the rider shot out from behind a large truck and the Waymo car did not have time to react.
That same month, an angry group of people in Chinatown torched a Waymo car in the middle of a Chinese New Year celebration.
In August, dozens of parked Waymo driverless cars repeatedly woke up South of Market residents in the early morning hours with continuous honking. The chorus of honking started when a driverless car backed up, triggering one honk and then another.
After several weeks and complaints from neighbors, Waymo finally fixed a feature that was installed to help avoid low-speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close to one another while reversing. Waymo apologized to the residents, threw them an ice cream party and gave them free Waymo rides.
Waymo isn’t the only self-driving car company that has had problems in San Francisco. Authorities suspended Cruise’s permit after an incident where a self-driving car dragged a woman 20 feet, badly injuring her.
Starting in 2026, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will have more information to adjust operational permits, based on repeat problems under a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday. AB 1777, authored by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting, authorizes law enforcement to take action when an autonomous vehicle violates the vehicle code. Repeated citations would allow the DMV to change or pull a company’s permits.
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