The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated a formal investigation into Waymo, the autonomous driving subsidiary of Alphabet, following multiple reports that its driverless vehicles allegedly violated traffic laws by passing school buses that were stopped for loading or unloading children in Austin, Texas. This inquiry reflects growing governmental concern about the real-world behavior and reliability of automated transportation technologies, particularly in situations involving the safety of children—one of the most sensitive and tightly regulated aspects of road safety enforcement.
In a detailed letter sent to Waymo on Wednesday, the federal agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) requested extensive technical documentation and operational data regarding the company’s fifth-generation self-driving system. The communication articulated a specific unease that Waymo’s robotaxis might be exhibiting unpredictable or potentially unlawful reactions when encountering school buses displaying flashing red lights and extended stop signs. Such behavior not only contravenes state traffic laws but also undermines public confidence in the safety protocols of emerging autonomous technologies.
This official correspondence follows an earlier October inquiry prompted by a very similar event in Georgia, where video evidence captured one of Waymo’s vehicles maneuvering past a stationary school bus actively signaling a stop. That footage, which attracted regulatory attention, appeared to demonstrate a critical lapse in the company’s perception and compliance systems. In response to that earlier scrutiny, Waymo publicly affirmed that ensuring safety remains its paramount objective and announced that it had already deployed a series of software updates aimed at addressing the underlying issue.
Despite those assurances, however, recent findings suggest that the problem may not have been fully resolved. A letter dated November 20 from the Austin Independent School District to Waymo stated that the district had documented 19 separate occurrences since the beginning of the academic year in which the company’s autonomous vehicles were observed passing stopped school buses. Significantly, at least five of those incidents reportedly occurred after the company had implemented the aforementioned software modifications intended to correct the issue. These figures further fueled apprehension among local officials and federal regulators alike about the sufficiency of Waymo’s remediation efforts.
In light of these ongoing events, the school district formally requested that Waymo suspend all autonomous operations in areas and at times coinciding with school pick-up and drop-off periods, when children are most likely to be crossing streets. According to statements provided to Reuters, the company declined to halt its self-driving activities near schools despite repeated appeals from district administrators. The district also cited an additional episode on December 1 involving a robotaxi that allegedly passed an actively loading school bus, intensifying pressure from the community for a regulatory response. Meanwhile, in a follow-up email dated November 24, NHTSA explicitly instructed Waymo to clarify whether it had, in fact, ceased operations during those critical timeframes or if it intended to comply with such guidance. The agency likewise sought confirmation as to whether the promised software corrections had been fully installed across the company’s entire operational fleet.
This latest probe is not the first instance in which Waymo’s autonomous vehicle program has been placed under federal examination. Earlier in 2024, NHTSA launched a broader investigation into reports of erratic or unpredictable maneuvers by the company’s cars—behaviors that, in some cases, were suspected of breaching traffic regulations. That inquiry underscored the ongoing tension between technological innovation and regulatory oversight as companies like Waymo expand into new markets. The firm continues to cultivate ambitions of operating its driverless service in over 20 metropolitan areas, an expansion that will likely proceed under ever-intensifying regulatory observation.
At the time of this report, Waymo had not issued an official statement in response to the latest federal probe. A company spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/838879/waymo-school-buses-probe
