Training first responders on interacting with Waymo vehicles

The US Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and Waymo have partnered to release an online safety training course for first responders interacting with Waymo vehicles.

First responders – including law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services and tow-truck operators – need to have the knowledge and tools to safely interact with new and emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles (AVs), the partners report, especially when there is no driver.

Hands-on vehicle training

To ensure first responders feel confident approaching and interacting with autonomous vehicles on the roadways, with or without passengers, Waymo’s First Responder Outreach team leads hands-on vehicle trainings with local fire, police and EMS organisations in advance of opening their service to public riders.

This new, complimentary online instruction is intended to supplement the comprehensive in-person training and safety resources available in cities where Waymo vehicles are deployed.

“Waymo and other AVs can unlock tremendous safety and mobility benefits for everyone,” said GHSA CEO Jonathan Adkins. “We owe it to our first responders – the first line of defence when there’s a problem on the road – to make sure they are prepared to safely interact with these vehicles.”

“We are committed to ensuring that first responders feel prepared and confident when working around our vehicles”

The free online training is divided into three modules:

• Introduce Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicles, show where they currently operate and explain how the vehicles respond to police and emergency operations
• Provide detailed instructions on how to approach and interact with a Waymo autonomous vehicle
• Explain critical safety procedures for first responders who need to extricate passengers or disconnect a vehicle’s battery.