Report (PDF) | Responses from Automakers (PDF) | Letter to NHTSA (PDF) Washington (March 31, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today published a report, Remote Backseat Operators: Revealing the Autonomous Vehicle Industry’s Reliance on Human Remote Assistance Operators, that reveals a stunning lack of transparency from autonomous vehicle (AV) companies around their use of Remote Assistance Operators (RAOs). Although the exact RAO role and performance vary by manufacturer, RAOs intervene when an AV confronts an uncertain or dangerous driving condition or situation. Senator Markey's investigation, which he launched in February, exposed a patchwork of safety practices across the industry, with significant variations in operator qualifications, response times, and overseas staffing. As a result of the report, Senator Markey sent a letter to Jonathan Morrison, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), urging NHTSA to investigate the AV industry’s RAO practices. Senator Markey also announced today that he is working on legislation to impose strong, enforceable regulations around the AV industry’s use of RAOs. “Autonomous vehicle companies make big promises about the safety of their self-driving cars, but it turns out that human workers still play a critical role with this technology,” said Senator Markey. “My investigation revealed a wide range of concerning practices, from employees assisting vehicles from overseas to wide variations in communication lag times between vehicles and human operators. These operations demand urgent federal regulation. I’m calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate, and I am working on legislation to impose strict guardrails on AV companies’ use of remote operators.” Senator Markey continued, “Autonomous vehicle companies have long boasted they can eliminate road fatalities caused by human error. Now it is time they are honest about their technology’s reliance on human help.” In