California Signs Law to Fine Robotaxi Companies If Vehicles Block First Responders
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1246, allowing local penalties for robotaxi companies whose vehicles block first responders for more than 30 minutes during emergencies. The law requires on-site incident technicians, US-based remote drivers, outage notifications and response-time reporting, and takes effect July 1, 2028.
The measure is meant to address concerns that driverless cars could keep ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency services from responding in time. Engadget reports that several incidents over the past year have raised those worries. In December 2025, several Waymo vehicles got stuck in the middle of San Francisco roads after a power outage took out the city's traffic lights. During this year's Fourth of July celebrations, Waymo vehicles had to be towed away after they ran out of power and got stranded because of heavy San Francisco traffic.
The issue has not been limited to California. In Austin, Texas, a Waymo car blocked an ambulance that was responding to a shooting. In July, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked operators to find a solution after identifying "a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders."
Under SB 1246, robotaxi operators will be required to provide an on-site contact for emergency responders. Those contacts will be called "local incident technicians" and will be able to assist with AV accidents and obstructions immediately. Operators will also be required to use US-based remote human drivers who hold US driver's licenses.
The law's remote-driver requirement does not mean robotaxis are remotely driven all the time. In Tesla's case, human drivers may remotely control a vehicle in difficult situations only if "available intervention actions have been exhausted," according to Engadget. Waymo said earlier this year that its vehicles could sometimes rely on guidance from remote human operators when they are stuck, and those operators lived in other countries.
SB 1246 also requires robotaxi companies to notify local authorities about the location and status of their vehicles during system-wide failures. Companies will have to issue additional reporting on their response times to incidents involving their vehicles, too.
Robotaxi operators will have time to prepare for the requirements because the law does not go into effect until July 1, 2028. Until then, California's new penalties and operational rules will not apply.