The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into Waymo following reports that the company’s Robotaxis illegally drove past stopped school buses in Austin, Texas.
In letter sent to Waymo on Wednesday, the federal Office of Defects Investigations asked for details about Waymo’s fifth-generation autonomous driving system and expressed concern that the Alphabet-owned company’s vehicles were exhibiting unexpected or illegal behavior near school buses.
The letter comes after the regulator launched an investigation into the company in October following an incident involving a stationary school bus in Georgia. The video shows one of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles driving past a stopped school bus with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed. In response, Waymo he said safety is its top priority and that it has already released software updates for its fleet to address this issue.
However, it looks like the problem still persists. In letter The Austin Independent School District on Nov. 20 said it had evidence of 19 separate incidents in which Waymo vehicles were recorded passing stopped school buses since the beginning of the school year. At least five of them occurred after the company said it had released an update to fix the problem.
The school district has asked Waymo to stop using autonomous vehicles during school pick-up and drop-off hours. District he said Reuters the company denied suspending operations around schools and claimed that another incident occurred on December 1 involving an actively charging school bus. e-mail on November 24, NHTSA specifically asked Waymo to “let us know if, as requested, you have ceased operations at this time or plan to cease operations” and to confirm whether a software fix has been implemented.
Waymo plans to file a voluntary recall with NHTSA to address this issue. “While we are incredibly proud of our strong safety record, which shows Waymo has twelve times fewer pedestrian injury crashes than drivers, adhering to the highest safety standards means recognizing when we need to do better,” Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, said in a statement. “As a result, we have made the decision to submit a voluntary software recall request to NHTSA related to appropriate deceleration and stopping in these scenarios. We will continue to analyze the performance of our vehicles and make necessary corrections as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.”
This isn’t the first time Waymo has faced regulatory scrutiny for autonomous cars. For example, in 2024, the Federal Regulatory Authority launched the probe following reports of erratic driving that potentially broke the law. It comes as the company expands into up-to-date markets and is expected to launch in more than 20 cities in the coming years.
Updated December 5: Waymo statement added.