No hands on steering wheel, but fully alert: Safety operators key to success of self-driving vehicles

ST20260911_202692000678/esoperator15/Jason Quah William Tan (right), 42, fleet manager and Sherman Seng, 24, who joined Zig Driverless right completing his National Service, pictured Sep 11, 2026. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Published Sep 15, 2026, 12:00 PM

Updated Sep 15, 2026, 12:42 PM

Safety operators in Singapore monitor autonomous vehicles (AVs), ready to take control and ensure passenger safety while providing feedback to improve AV systems.

Operators undergo specialised training and manage technical challenges, adapting to new roles as AV technology evolves, with career conversion programmes available.

The industry aims for fully driverless shuttles, with operators like Sarah Ahmad already certified as a remote operator who can manage multiple AVs from a control centre.

SINGAPORE – Sherman Seng followed in his cabby father’s footsteps and found a job in the public transport sector, but he hardly touches the steering wheel when plying the streets.

Seng, 24, is a safety operator of autonomous vehicles (AV) for Zig Driverless, which is a unit under transport giant ComfortDelGro.

That means he picks up a vehicle every morning and drives it – in the conventional way – to a pick-up point for driverless shuttle rides in Punggol, and readies to ferry passengers starting at 9.30am .

Pre-vehicle checks, cleaning and team briefings are done before that, at about 8am.

When the shuttle starts moving, Seng’s task is to observe the behaviour of the vehicle and record mistakes like abrupt braking, sharp turns, not switching on hazard lights at pick-up or drop-off points, or being “indecisive” in giving way to oncoming traffic.

What sets his job apart from what his father did for 14 years is that Seng does not have to put his hands on the steering wheel when the vehicle moves – although he has to be just as alert on the road, if not more.

He said: “Autonomous vehicles are different, they’re a mode of future mobility... So I thought, why not? I can just give it a shot.”

Seng joined the firm in March after completing his national service, and holds a Higher Nitec certificate from the Institute of Technical Education.

He is the youngest in a team of 13 safety operators, who often refer to him as the “team’s baby”.

Sherman Seng, 24, who joined Zig Driverless after completing his National Service, pictured Sep 11, 2026. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The Straits Times

Sherman Seng, 24, who joined Zig Driverless after completing his National Service, pictured Sep 11, 2026. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Like all safety operators under CDG, he completed three weeks of hands-on training in Guangzhou before operating driverless shuttles in Singapore.

CDG is one of two operators offering autonomous shuttle services in Punggol. Grab has been offering free public rides since April 1 , covering three routes.

After the rides, operators provide feedback to the engineering team so that the AV system can be improved and become more intuitive.

They also help try out new versions of the system on a testing vehicle to make sure it is operationally ready before it is rolled out to the AVs that ferry passengers.

When carrying passengers, operators must be prepared to take control of the vehicle manually at any time, in case there is a system malfunction or dangerous situation. They also need to know how to solve minor technical problems the AVs face.

A safety operator’s shift usually ends at about 6.30pm.

Like his father, Seng has encountered difficult passengers – including a family that insisted that their child under 1.35m tall be allowed to board without a child booster seat.

At first, it was a little difficult for him to sit for long hours but thanks to tips from his father, Seng gets up to stretch every two hours, and that has helped.

In fact, his father came for a ride on an AV operated by Seng and said it as “better than his own driving”.

Taxi and private-hire drivers interested to make the switch to AV safety operators can take up long-term career conversion programmes and a new training scheme featuring short courses offered by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency.

Grab safety operator supervisor Sarah Ahmad , 45, who used to be a part-time private-hire driver, took up her new role in November 2025 because she felt it would be “exciting”.

Sarah Ahmad, 45, Grab safety operator supervisor, used to be a part-time private-hire driver for three years. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The Straits Times

Sarah Ahmad, 45, Grab safety operator supervisor, used to be a part-time private-hire driver for three years. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

She has been interested in technology since she was a child , and wanted to focus more on her career now since her four children – aged 13 to 16 – are old enough and are more independent.

Sarah’s month-long training stint helped her come up to speed about the technical specifications of AVs, how to ensure that the vehicle is in working condition, as well as how to manually take control of the vehicle.

One challenge she faced was getting used to driving on the left side of the vehicle, which she eventually adapted to, after adjusting her perspective of the AV and surrounding traffic.

It also took some time to get used to the hands-off approach on AVs – since operators are not supposed to touch the steering wheel or brakes.

Even her father, who sat on an AV operated by Sarah, was “frantic”, she said, when he noticed that her hands were not on the steering wheel. He warmed up to it after seeing that the AV was running smoothly.

While AVs in Singapore currently need a safety operator to be onboard, operators in Singapore one day hope to run fully driverless shuttles without an AV operator onboard.

But Sarah has already picked up new skills to prepare for the AV industry’s next development, as she is now qualified to be a remote operator managing multiple self-driving vehicles from an operations centre.

CDG fleet manager William Tan now manages the live operations of five driverless vehicles and 12 safety operators from the control centre, responding to dynamic situations during operating hours.

Describing his current role as “totally different ball game” compared with his previous role as an operations support assistant manager, Tan said it has been challenging but rewarding to learn about new AV technologies.

He said: “It’s really mind-blowing to me... The safety operator plays a very important role in guiding the vehicle, giving inputs so the back-end engineers will be able to improve the vehicle, and ensuring that it’s safe.”

Esther Loi is a journalist at The Straits Times, where she covers transport issues.

Self-driving vehicles

ST20260911_202692000678/esoperator15/Jason Quah 威廉·谭（右），42岁，车队经理；谢尔曼·森，24岁，在完成国民服役后加入Zig Driverless公司。照片拍摄于2026年9月11日。ST摄影：JASON QUAH

发布于2026年9月15日下午12:00

更新于2026年9月15日下午12:42

新加坡的安全操作员监控自动驾驶车辆 (AV)，随时准备接管控制权，确保乘客安全，同时提供反馈以改进 AV 系统。

操作员接受专门培训并应对技术挑战，随着音视频技术的演进而适应新的角色，并可参加职业转换计划。

该行业的目标是实现完全无人驾驶的班车，像 Sarah Ahmad 这样的运营商已经获得远程操作员资格认证，可以从控制中心管理多辆自动驾驶汽车。

新加坡——谢尔曼·森格继承了出租车司机父亲的事业，在公共交通部门找到了一份工作，但他在街上行驶时几乎不碰方向盘。

24 岁的 Seng 是 Zig Driverless 公司的自动驾驶汽车 (AV) 安全操作员，该公司是运输巨头 ComfortDelGro 旗下的一个部门。

这意味着他每天早上都会取一辆车，然后像往常一样把它开到榜鹅的无人驾驶接驳车接送点，准备从早上 9 点 30 分开始接送乘客。

在此之前，大约在早上 8 点会进行车辆检查、清洁和团队简报。

当班车开始行驶时，Seng 的任务是观察车辆的行驶情况，并记录诸如突然刹车、急转弯、在接送点未打开危险警示灯或在避让迎面而来的车辆时“犹豫不决”等错误。

与他父亲从事了 14 年的工作不同的是，Seng 在车辆行驶时不必将手放在方向盘上——尽管他在路上必须保持同样的警觉，甚至更加警觉。

他说：“自动驾驶汽车不一样，它们代表着未来的出行方式……所以我想，为什么不呢？我可以试一试。”

Seng在完成国民服役后于3月份加入公司，并持有技术教育学院颁发的高级Nitec证书。

他是13名安全操作员团队中最年轻的成员，大家经常称他为“团队里的宝贝”。

24岁的谢尔曼·森（Sherman Seng）在完成国民服役后加入Zig Driverless公司，图为2026年9月11日拍摄。（海峡时报摄影：JASON QUAH）

24岁的谢尔曼·森（Sherman Seng）在完成国民服役后加入Zig Driverless公司，图为2026年9月11日拍摄。（海峡时报摄影：JASON QUAH）

与 CDG 旗下所有安全操作员一样，他在广州完成了三周的实践培训，之后才前往新加坡驾驶无人驾驶班车。

CDG是榜鹅两家提供无人驾驶接驳车服务的运营商之一。Grab自4月1日起提供免费公共乘车服务，覆盖三条线路。

游乐设施运营结束后，运营人员会向工程团队提供反馈，以便改进自动驾驶系统，使其更加直观易用。

他们还帮助在测试车辆上试用新版本的系统，以确保在推广到运送乘客的自动驾驶汽车之前，该系统能够正常运行。

在载客行驶时，操作员必须随时做好准备，在系统出现故障或发生危险情况时，能够手动接管车辆控制权。他们还需要知道如何解决自动驾驶汽车遇到的轻微技术问题。

安全员的轮班通常在下午 6 点 30 分左右结束。

和他的父亲一样，Seng 也遇到过难缠的乘客——其中有一家人坚持要让身高不足 1.35 米的孩子在没有儿童增高座椅的情况下登机。

起初，他很难长时间坐着，但多亏了父亲的建议，Seng 每隔两小时就起来伸展一下身体，这很有帮助。

事实上，他的父亲乘坐了Seng驾驶的自动驾驶汽车，并表示“比他自己开车还好”。

有兴趣转行成为自动驾驶汽车安全操作员的出租车和私家车司机可以参加长期职业转换计划和由技能和劳动力发展署提供的短期课程的新培训计划。

Grab 安全操作员主管 Sarah Ahmad 现年 45 岁，她以前是一名兼职私人出租车司机，于 2025 年 11 月开始担任这一新职位，因为她觉得这会“令人兴奋”。

45岁的莎拉·艾哈迈德是Grab的安全运营主管，她曾做过三年兼职私家车司机。（海峡时报照片：杰森·夸）

45岁的莎拉·艾哈迈德是Grab的安全运营主管，她曾做过三年兼职私家车司机。（海峡时报摄影：杰森·夸）

她从小就对科技感兴趣，现在她的四个孩子（年龄在 13 岁到 16 岁之间）都已长大成人，更加独立，因此她想把更多精力放在自己的事业上。

莎拉为期一个月的培训帮助她快速掌握了自动驾驶汽车的技术规格，如何确保车辆处于正常工作状态，以及如何手动控制车辆。

她面临的一个挑战是习惯在车辆左侧驾驶，在调整了对自动驾驶汽车和周围交通的看法后，她最终适应了。

人们也花了一些时间才习惯自动驾驶汽车的免手操作方式——因为操作员不应该触碰方向盘或刹车。

就连坐在莎拉操控的自动驾驶汽车上的父亲，在发现她双手没有放在方向盘上时也“慌了神”，莎拉说。不过，在看到自动驾驶汽车运行流畅后，他也慢慢接受了。

虽然新加坡的自动驾驶汽车目前需要配备安全操作员，但新加坡的运营商希望有一天能够运营完全无人驾驶的班车，而无需自动驾驶汽车操作员在车上。

但莎拉已经掌握了新的技能，为自动驾驶汽车行业的下一个发展阶段做好准备，她现在有资格成为一名远程操作员，从运营中心管理多辆自动驾驶汽车。

CDG车队经理William Tan现在通过控制中心管理5辆无人驾驶车辆和12名安全操作员的实时运营，并在运营时间内应对各种动态情况。

Tan 形容他目前的角色与他之前担任的运营支持助理经理的角色“完全不同”，他说学习新的 AV 技术既具有挑战性，也很有成就感。

他说：“这真的让我感到不可思议……安全操作员在引导车辆方面发挥着非常重要的作用，他提供的信息可以让后端工程师改进车辆，并确保车辆安全。”

埃丝特·罗伊是《海峡时报》的记者，主要报道交通运输问题。

自动驾驶汽车