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2 hours ago
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Safety transparency and accountability have always been the foundation of Waymo’s mission to be the world’s most trusted driver. Today, we’re proud to share that Waymo has become the first autonomous driving company to complete independent, third-party audits of both our remote assistance program, which helps provide contextual information to our vehicles, and our safety case program. Conducted over several months by the global leader in safety testing and certification, TÜV SÜD, this rigorous review evaluated each program against industry best practices and standards.
"This independent audit is a fundamental part of our safety strategy," said Mauricio Peña, Chief Safety Officer at Waymo. "It’s about verifying that our methods and processes — from how we prove the Waymo Driver is safe to how we manage remote assistance — are robust, credible, and built in accordance with the highest standards.”
“It’s not only about aligning with standards — it’s about demonstrating procedural rigor and implementation evidence that genuinely strengthens the safety case for autonomous technology,” said Bijoy Bhaskaran, Director of Mobility at TÜV SÜD. “Commitment to working through best practices with discipline and independent confirmation is what ultimately builds trust among the public and stakeholders.”
This audit follows a previous independent evaluation by TÜV SÜD of Waymo’s First Responder program. With more aspects of our safety approach undergoing third-party review and confirmation, Waymo continues to lead the industry in safety and elevate standards for accountability.
The Credibility of the Safety Case Program
A safety case is a formal way to explain how a company determines its fully autonomous system is safe for public road deployment without a human driver, including evidence to support that determination. Waymo has been a long-time proponent of using a safety case approach as the foundation for autonomous vehicle regulatory frameworks. In 2023, Waymo published its own methodology to help guide the industry on how to build a reliable case for safety.
Recently, TÜV SÜD audited Waymo’s processes for managing and assessing its safety case program. This audit involved a thorough review of our policy documentation — from the claim creation and evidence identification to operationalization and management of the entire process. Independent implementation checks, including multiple interviews with Waymo team members, also ensured the consistent and effective application of these policies. The audit confirmed that Waymo’s safety case program adheres to all the guidance outlined in the recent AVSC Best Practice for Safety Case Assessment, as well as satisfies the rigorous requirements within the International Standards for Systems and Software Assurance ISO 15026-2. Together, these documents provide the leading industry standards and state of the art for safety case assessment and management.
The Remote Assistance Program Audit
Waymo’s remote assistance program, referred to as Fleet Response, enables the Waymo Driver to contact a human agent for additional information to help contextualize its surroundings in certain challenging or uncommon situations. It’s important to note that the Waymo Driver does not rely solely on the inputs it receives from the fleet response agent and it is in control of the vehicle at all times, dynamically prioritizing the safest course of action.
TÜV SÜD conducted a comprehensive review of the program, evaluating the robustness and safety of training and implementation practices, including a multiple-day site visit to observe operations firsthand. The audit confirmed the adherence of Waymo’s policies and practices with the industry best practice on Remote Assistance Use-Cases produced by the AVSC consortium.
This successful independent audit by TÜV SÜD verifies over a decade of engineering rigor and operational excellence at Waymo, in general and specific to our remote operations. This is how we earn trust — through evidence and independent review — reinforcing our commitment to higher standards in safety and accountability.
