Self-Driving Car Pulled Over for Going Too Slow, Impeding Traffic

Google's self-driving car was pulled over by police this week for driving too slowly and impeding traffic in California, and a photo of the officer standing beside the small car is now going viral.

The incident, which didn't result in a ticket for Google, has generated jokes about the future being full of self-driving cars jamming the highways, just like Grandpa.

The incident occurred Thursday in Mountain View, California, where Google headquarters is located, and caused such a social media uproar that the police department put out a statement on its police blog.

"This afternoon a Mountain View Police Department traffic officer noticed traffic backing up behind a slow-moving car traveling in the eastbound #3 lane on El Camino Real, near Rengstorff Ave," the department announced. "The car was traveling at 24 mph in a 35-mph zone. As the officer approached the slow-moving car he realized it was a Google Autonomous Vehicle. The officer stopped the car and made contact with the operators to learn more about how the car was choosing speeds along certain roadways and to educate the operators about impeding traffic."

Google posted on Google+ that its cars have driven 1.2 million miles without getting a ticket.



"We’ve capped the speed of our prototype vehicles at 25mph for safety reasons. We want them to feel friendly and approachable, rather than zooming scarily through neighborhood streets," the company said.

Police pull over self-driving car for going too slow but do not write a ticket. Apparently buffering is not a traffic violation. #googlecar

— Doug Russell (@thedougrussell) November 13, 2015

Related Stories:

• Self-Driving Cars in 4 California Crashes That Were Kept Secret
• Uber Self-Driving Cars Are Closer to Reality With New Robotics Facility