Federal safety regulators have opened a new investigation into Waymo over its robotaxis illegally passing stopped school buses, questioning whether a software recall issued nearly a year ago actually fixed the problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a November 6 filing that most of the reported incidents happened after Waymo deployed the software update meant to address the behavior.
Waymo said last year that the update had been completed for all affected vehicles on November 17, 2025. NHTSA, however, said the majority of the incidents occurred after that update. The agency's Office of Defects Investigation has opened a recall query to assess the adequacy of the remedy.
The ODI's initial investigation into Waymo began in October 2025, after officials reviewed footage of one of the company's autonomous vehicles driving around a stopped school bus in Atlanta. In that incident, the bus had its stop sign extended and lights flashing while children were unloading. The Waymo robotaxi crossed perpendicularly in front of the bus from its right side, then turned left around the front of the bus before continuing down the street.
Additional incidents have been documented in the weeks and months since in Austin, where Waymo also runs a robotaxi service. Austin Independent School District officials reported at least five such incidents at the time, according to a letter filed with NHTSA.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Waymo emphasized that safety is central to its mission. A spokesperson said the company has made significant improvements to vehicle behavior around school buses and has received no citations since March 2026. The spokesperson also said the Waymo Driver has a clearly demonstrated positive impact on roadway safety, and that the company will respond to NHTSA's query once it is received and looks forward to continuing to engage on recall processes for autonomous vehicle software that continues to learn and improve.
TechCrunch also contacted Austin Independent School District officials for comment. The original report said it would be updated if they responded.
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