As the Pandemic Rages, Contract Workers Face Risky Conditions Testing Self-Driving Cars
Maybe it’s time for them to move out of Silicon Valley
The year 2020 has been a tougher year than usual for almost everyone and particularly for those who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to the extraordinarily high cost of living in the region, it was one of the first American hotspots for the coronavirus outbreak, and since mid-summer it has been plagued by even larger wildfires than usual. For safety operators working for automated driving companies based in the Bay Area, it’s even worse. But some companies appear to be taking better care of their employees than others.
Larger Autonomous Vehicle (AV) companies like Cruise and Waymo are still using two safety operators per vehicle. The person behind the steering wheel is focused on watching the road and is prepared to take control whenever they deem that it might be unsafe to allow the automation to continue. The second operator is watching the data and noting anomalies that should be investigated.
Before 2020 none of us gave much thought to the potential hazards of two individuals sitting in close proximity for several hours at a time inside a closed space. But now we’re living through an airborne virus pandemic, which makes the current…
