Dive Brief:
- The Governors Highway Safety Association and Waymo today announced they have created an online safety training course for first responders engaging with Waymo vehicles.
- The training consists of three modules meant to educate first responders on the company’s robotaxis and supplements Waymo’s hands-on training, instructional guides and videos.
- Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services and tow-truck operators need to understand how to interact with Waymo vehicles as these and other driverless robotaxis proliferate across the U.S., according to GHSA.
Dive Insight:
“Autonomous vehicles are built differently than electric vehicles or gas-powered cars,” GHSA Director of Communications Adam Snider said in an email. “AVs bring several unique factors for first responders.”
Waymo operates fully autonomous vehicles in 10 U.S. cities and plans to expand to 20 more cities in 2026. The company says it works closely with first responders to ensure safe introduction of its vehicles’ technology.
“Waymo understands the important role of first responders in keeping our roadways safe and we value our relationship with those teams in the cities in which we operate,” Rob Patrick, Waymo’s emergency response and outreach manager, said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring that first responders feel prepared and confident when working around our vehicles.”
The free training course consists of three modules: An introduction to Waymo’s robotaxis, explaining where they operate and how the vehicles respond to police and emergency operations; detailed instructions on how to approach and interact with the vehicles; and safety procedures for first responders who need to extricate passengers or disconnect a vehicle’s battery.
Waymo’s operations center staff can communicate with first responders, confirm that the vehicle will not move and provide instructions on how to disengage the system, disconnect power or take manual control of the vehicle. The company also provides a toll-free hotline for first responders and a QR code on the driver- and passenger-side windows to directly contact Waymo.
GHSA also provides a resource web page for first responders.
