US Regulators Open Probe Into Waymo Robotaxis Over School Bus Violations

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a recall query into nearly 3,000 Waymo autonomous vehicles following repeated reports of driverless cars passing stopped school buses. Regulators are assessing whether a previous software update failed to resolve the issue, while Waymo reported improvements and an absence of citations since March.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a recall query into roughly 3,000 Waymo vehicles after autonomous cars repeatedly passed stopped school buses.· 2 sources
• Regulators closed an earlier preliminary evaluation from October 2025 to investigate whether a December 2025 software remedy failed to stop cars from passing buses with flashing red lights.· 3 sources
• School districts recorded multiple infractions, including 19 documented violations and 300-dollar tickets in Austin, Texas, alongside six recorded violations in Atlanta.· 2 sources
• Most reported incidents took place after November 2025, when Waymo stated it had already deployed its software fix across all affected vehicles.· 2 sources
• Waymo stated it has improved vehicle behavior around school buses, has received no citations since March, and will cooperate with the recall query.· 2 sources
• The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the school bus incidents, while both agencies examine a separate January incident where a Waymo vehicle struck a child in Santa Monica.· 2 sources