Waymo robotaxis kept illegally passing school buses after software fix, feds say
The update to Waymo's self-driving system was rolled out nearly a year ago.
Waymo's self-driving robotaxis have been caught illegally passing stopped school buses that had deployed flashing red lights, according to federal safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into why this dangerous behavior persists following a software update that was meant to address the issue.
The update was rolled out on November 17, 2025, to all affected vehicles. However, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) found that the majority of reported incidents occurred after the software update. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of the remedy provided by Waymo. The ODI opened its investigation into Waymo in October 2025 after witnessing a robotaxi in Atlanta dangerously maneuver around a stopped school bus.
The autonomous vehicle crossed perpendicularly in front of the bus from the right side, turned left around the front of the bus, and then traveled down the street. Similar incidents have been documented in Austin, where Waymo also operates a robotaxi service. Austin Independent School District officials reported at least five such instances, citing the extended stop sign, flashing lights, and unloading children as red flags.
Written by urgent.news from TechCrunch's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
