The invention relates to a safety system for an autonomous vehicle, the safety system comprising at least one warning device and a warning system. The warning system is configured to automatically detect an emergency situation based on a monitored operating mode of at least one subsystem of the autonomous vehicle, and to automatically deploy, in response to detecting the emergency situation, the at least one warning device in a surroundings of the autonomous vehicle. The warning system is further configured to deploy the at least one warning device according to a minimal risk procedure of the autonomous vehicle.