The SS can and does make that information available when necessary, for instance to private toll bridge operators. Waymo doesn't need significant advance notice either, just minutes for normal vehicles.

I suspect the easiest thing would be a "return to base and shutdown" button that the Secret Service could trigger at short notice - would cause problems for everything wanting to use a Waymo, but I suspect the SS are quite OK with causing disruption already.

It’s called the “tow truck protocol”. The specifics are too complicated to get into here, but it involves a phone call, and sometimes they bring in an outside agency known only as “AAA”.

It's not about the car or the manufactirer, it's about the operator.

The closest analogy would be when the driver of an ordinary car becomes incapacitated.

In that case, the police or someone acting on the polices behalf can and will move the vehicle and then the owner pays for that later. But there IS an operator who is responsible for the vehicle unless some misfortune happens.

A self driving car sseems more like letting other people deal with any problems you caused by letting that car loose on the road.

Basically the same as parking a regular car somewhere it's not supposed to be and leaving it.

"Oh if this car I left in front of the firehouse is in the way, just call this number and I'll tell you some instructions how to unlock the car and drive it somewhere else for me."

I understand this is a slippery slope argument on my part, but why is this any different from the emergency services pushing a non-autonomous vehicle out of the way to clear traffic?

What if it’s a privately owned bus, or a taxi? Would those companies foot the bill for their disabled vehicle?

They soon (for some Definition of "soon" ) will be able to do this, according to this article:

"Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill that allows law enforcement to cite driverless car companies for traffic violations."

https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/28/waymo-halts-kamala-harris-...

they already do this regularly. just instead of driving it off the road they ram it with their vehicles off the road. edit: or if there's time they will tow it.

Traditionally, this is called “towing”.

block access to a fire hydrant they may break the windows put the car in neutral and move it out of the way

If the driver is incapacitated, they will move the vehicle themselves

Moving a car if the driver is incapacitated or not present?

Have you ever really watched an emergency vehicle try to get through a traffic clogged road.

The Meatbags most certainly do not now how to get out of the way.

I've personally seen more than once the meatbags confuse the accelerator for the brake.