By Ty Duffy
Google’s self-driving effort, Waymo, is at the forefront of the robotaxi movement. The company is already offering commercial service, with its distinctive white Jaguar I-Pace vehicles, in several American cities, with more to come in 2026. But robotaxis have not quite mastered all the human traffic world’s nuances yet.
So we’ve seen Waymo vehicles doing things such as driving around a parking lot honking at each other incessantly, bringing traffic to a halt by getting into standoffs, and, potentially more dangerously, driving passengers directly through an armed police standoff. It's definitely still a work-in-progress.
Teaching the machines to interact with humans will require more time and effort. So in the meantime, Waymo decided to help diffuse some incidents by teaching human first responders how to interact with the machines.
Waymo's Online Training Course For First Responders
Waymo announced a partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) to create an online training program for police, EMS, and other first responders. The program consists of three modules and takes around 30 minutes (probably less). I completed most of the program save for the final certification quiz while researching this article.
The program teaches first responders how to recognize Waymo vehicles: white Jaguar I-Pace, signs that say "Waymo," and a giant sensor array on the roof. That's pretty much a no-brainer, but it also covers how to approach and interact with the vehicles. That includes how Waymo trained the cars to respond to emergency situations, accidents, and, say, a police officer manually directing traffic. It also teaches first responders how to disable autonomous driving, turn off the vehicle, disconnect the battery, and safely cut into the car.
Where Autonomous Vehicles Can Operate
According to the GHSA, five states – Arizona, California, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas – have active autonomous vehicle taxi services operating without a driver. Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., have services coming soon. Autonomous driving companies are currently testing in Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Within the states, autonomous taxis can operate in specific, geofenced areas, typically major metropolitan areas. Waymo, for instance, currently offers services in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. The company plans to deliver service in Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. by the end of 2026. Tesla has just received approval to test vehicles without on-board drivers to intervene in Austin.
Sources: NBC Bay Area, Road and Track, GHSA
Read the full article on CarBuzz
This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
