# Who is really helping the self-driving cars?

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2026-04-07

waymo, autonomous-vehicles, self-driving-cars, policy, remote-assistance-operators, tech, california, mobility

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One of the least understood aspects of self-driving cars is the extent and capacity to which they rely on remote assistance operators (RAOs).

When a self-driving car finds itself confused in an uncertain or tricky situation (like when one rolled into [an active shootout](https://pro.stateaffairs.com/ca/ai-tech/lawmakers-scrutinize-autonomous-vehicles?utm_source=FoT&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trucks-fot-xona-verneponyuber-aechelon)), there are typically two safety valves. The first is a manual override, where someone like a first responder might jump into the front seat and take control of the steering wheel. And the second is assistance from a remote operator.

If the car gets confused, a human can tell it, "Hey, you, follow this path." But how often is remote assistance being called upon? And who is actually responding on the other end? Apparently, the answer is, "I don't know."

According to a [recent report](https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/remote_assistance_investigation_report.pdf) from Senator Ed Markey, every major AV company refuses to disclose how often they rely on an RAO. And in the case of Waymo, they rely on overseas operators in places like the Philippines.

This has led to [new proposed legislation](https://v) that would, among other things, limit the number of vehicles that a single RAO can oversee, mandate that the RAO be located in the US, and require the humans to hold a local driver's license. You know, so they're sure to know the rules of the road.

There's a lot to figure out, and it seems a bit messy. But that's what it takes. As one would expect, this is par for the course when you're trying to rewrite urban mobility.

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_Cover photo by_ [_Leo\_Visions_](https://unsplash.com/@leo_visions_?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) _on_ [_Unsplash_](https://unsplash.com/photos/self-driving-car-with-sensors-on-city-street-rT3fpi94lnw?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/who-is-really-helping-the-self-driving-cars)*