How Police Are Preparing for the Arrival of Autonomous Cars

On a sunny June afternoon in Chandler, Arizona, more than a dozen police and emergency vehicles paced up and down a mostly empty street, with their sirens blaring and emergency lights flashing. All eyes, though, were on the handful of self-driving cars that shared the road. Some drove in front of a fire truck; others cruised alongside police motorcycles and unmarked cars. Spectators, including Police Lieutenant David Ramer, watched in anticipation as the cars decided when to pull over and when to yield.

For the hours-long demonstration, Ramer spent three months coordinating with Alphabet’s Waymo to find the right time, place, and fleet of vehicles to help the company train its cars to recognize and respond properly to emergency vehicles. This is a task most human drivers have yet to get right, and still, it’s an essential one for machines to master before they can take over on the road.