Driverless car starts to pull away after being stopped by police

A video which has gone viral shows a driverless car start to pull away after being stopped by police, at least initially – raising questions about how authorities can handle autonomous vehicles.

The car, owned and operated by a company called Cruise in San Francisco, is based on a Chevy Bolt chassis – although the company plans to launch a completely original vehicle soon.

After police pull over the car for not having its lights on, the video shows an officer walking up to the car door – appearing to be surprised to discover it has no driver – and then unsuccessfully attempting to open it.

After failing, he begins to walk back to his car, but the autonomous Cruise vehicle – which is allowed to drive at night in the city – zooms off in what initially looks like a getaway attempt.