GHSA and Waymo are giving first responders – including law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services and tow-truck operators – the knowledge and tools to safely interact with new and emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
GHSA: Caroline Cash, 240-409-6375
Waymo: press@waymo.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Waymo continues to expand into new markets, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and Waymo have created an original 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), especially when there is no driver.
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 organizations well in advance of opening their service to public riders. This new, complimentary online instruction supplements 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 defense when there’s a problem on the road – to make sure they are prepared to safely interact with these vehicles.”
“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,” said Rob Patrick, Waymo’s Emergency Response and Outreach Manager and retired California Highway Patrol Commander. “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:
After completing the self-paced online training, participants will have the opportunity to take an online quiz and download a certificate of completion after passing the quiz.
In addition to the online Waymo training, GHSA has developed a first responder autonomous vehicle resource page that provides information about where AVs are being deployed and includes links to first responder resources available from other developers, like Aurora and Zoox.
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The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans.
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve everyone's access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. Waymo's fully autonomous ride-hailing service has served over 10 million trips to riders in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta. The Waymo Driver has autonomously driven over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states. For more, visit Waymo.com.
