Moment of Reliance: A Governance Test — Why Safety Must Be Provable When It Is Relied Upon

DescriptionThis paper defines the concept of the moment of reliance as a governance test in safety-critical systems.The moment of reliance is the point at which a decision-maker, operator, occupant, regulator, or emergency responder must rely on a system’s safety claims to make a consequential decision. In governance terms, this is the only moment that matters. Safety is either provable at that point, or it is not.Across law, regulation, and safety-critical engineering, assurance regimes typically rely on historic certification, design intent, or procedural compliance as proxies for present-state safety. This paper explains why such proxies fail at the moment of reliance, and why post-incident reconstruction…