San Francisco AV regulations moved a step closer to becoming mandatory last week, as Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote directly to California’s Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin demanding that robotaxi operators prove their vehicles can handle major disruptions before being allowed to deploy them at scale.
The letter, sent on Wednesday, was triggered by two incidents Lurie says exposed a gap in how autonomous vehicles behave when conditions deteriorate. On the evening of 4 July, Land Line Media reported that the fireworks celebration drew more than 100,000 people to San Francisco’s waterfront. Waymo vehicles became immobilised in the resulting gridlock, blocking travel lanes and trapping Muni shuttles carrying thousands of people trying to leave.
According to KQED, the trouble started before the fireworks even began: Waymo vehicles were already struggling to navigate growing traffic earlier in the evening. Lurie also cited a citywide power outage in December 2025 that stranded Waymo robotaxis and paralysed public transport alongside them.
‘California’s challenge now is not just whether autonomous vehicles can operate safely under normal conditions, but also whether they can perform reliably during extraordinary ones,’ Lurie wrote. His summary demand was blunt: ‘Prove it before you deploy it.’
What the San Francisco AV Regulations Proposal Would Require
Lurie’s proposal sets out four specific tests for any robotaxi operator. Companies would need to demonstrate the ability to quickly clear disabled vehicles from active lanes, dynamically reroute during emergencies, share real-time operational data with local agencies, and prove through testing that their systems can withstand major surges in traffic and demand.
The push represents a turn for Lurie personally. Politico reports that he came into office championing Waymo’s expansion as a boost to San Francisco’s economy and image. That relationship has since become more complicated: Politico also reports that Waymo pulled its cars from San Francisco freeways temporarily following the July 4 incidents over performance concerns.
Lurie has taken his case beyond the state level. The SF Standard reports he is backing a federal bill from Representative Kevin Mullin, whose district covers areas south of San Francisco toward Silicon Valley, that would require autonomous vehicle companies to improve their performance during emergencies. San Francisco transit and public safety officials have also given the bill their support.
Waymo told Business Insider it appreciated Lurie’s input and said its robotaxis had successfully supported some of the city’s biggest events, including the FIFA World Cup games. ‘The City and Waymo share a mutual goal of providing safe and accessible transportation for visitors and residents alike,’ a company spokesperson said. ‘We will continue to partner with the City’s agencies, collaborating with them on the learnings based on the millions of rides we have provided in San Francisco.’
Federal Pressure Mounts Over First-Responder Conflicts
Lurie’s letter arrived weeks after federal regulators made their own intervention. On 8 July, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a letter to major autonomous vehicle developers, signed by Administrator Jonathan Morrison, documenting cases in which driverless vehicles drove directly into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, or failed to recognise flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones, according to the NHTSA letter published on 8 July 2026. The agency said it would schedule meetings with driverless developers by the end of July 2026 to hear proposed solutions.
TechCrunch reported that the NHTSA letter cited incidents involving Waymo vehicles and law enforcement agencies specifically in California and Texas.
An NHTSA press release accompanying the letter characterised the problem as a ‘functional insufficiency’ and stated: ‘An automated vehicle that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public.’ The agency added that ’emergency scenes are not rare or extreme edge cases’ and that ‘public trust on our roads is earned, not given.’
California already runs a two-track permitting system for robotaxi operators, with companies required to clear separate hurdles through the California DMV and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Waymo holds both a drivered pilot permit and a driverless deployment permit, while the broader list of companies authorised to test without a safety driver is wider than the six most prominently named operators.
KQED notes that despite the force of Lurie’s language, he has limited legal authority to set standards for autonomous vehicle technology, even within San Francisco’s own boundaries. That constraint is part of why his letter went to the state, and his backing for Mullin’s federal bill signals he is pursuing every level of government simultaneously. Whether Sacramento or Washington acts first may determine how quickly the industry faces binding rules rather than voluntary commitments.