A photo of a Waymo vehicle driving through snow in downtown Truckee sparked curiosity online earlier this week.
But the testing isn’t new.
In a statement to KUNR, Waymo said it has been bringing vehicles to the Sierra since its early days as part of the Google Self-Driving Car Project.
The company returned recently to test its newest system in snowy conditions, with a human safety driver behind the wheel.
Still, Truckee officials said they were not formally notified.
In a statement, the town says it only learned about the testing after sightings in 2024, and that there’s been no ongoing coordination or formal process to notify residents.
“The Town was not formally notified during the testing period, and to our knowledge, the Truckee Chamber of Commerce was also not informed. At this time, the Town has not had direct coordination with Waymo and there is no formal process for notifying residents of such activity on public roads,” the statement said.
Experts say that’s not unusual.
“The California DMV has allowed Waymo to do testing with a human safety operator behind the wheel, anywhere in California and has allowed driverless testing only in certain localities, close to San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, those areas,” said Dave Feil-Seifer, University of Nevada, Reno computer science professor.
In California, autonomous vehicle testing is regulated at the state level, meaning companies can operate on public roads with the proper permits.
From steep, winding roads to snow and wildlife, the Sierra acts as a kind of stress test for the technology, Feil-Seifer said.
“Different weather conditions change how different sensors read the environment, how they understand what’s going on. Things like rain and snow, fog, all of these environments are important to understand if a car is going to operate anywhere.”
And while the testing is legal, he said communities should still be aware.
“If you see an autonomous vehicle or even an autonomous vehicle with a safety driver and it’s operating in a way that you think is unsafe, you can actually report that to the DMV using a form,” Feil-Seifer said.
Testing in places like Truckee can help improve the technology, but also highlights the importance of public awareness, Feil-Seifer said. Human drivers and pedestrians often rely on subtle cues and judgment that autonomous systems are still learning to replicate.
For now, autonomous vehicles remain in testing mode in the Sierra.
