NHTSA probes Waymo over taxis passing school buses with red lights or stop signs

Federal review covers 2,895 Waymo vehicles with fifth-generation automated driving system

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it is evaluating whether Waymo’s software fix was adequate after reports of driverless taxis passing school buses. The inquiry covers 2,895 Waymo vehicles equipped with the company’s fifth-generation automated-driving system. NHTSA said the Austin, Texas, Independent School District provided the traffic citations.

Starting last year, the school system said Waymo vehicles repeatedly passed stopped school buses. Waymo had said it completed software updates in November 2025 that would ensure its taxis remained stationary when a school bus’s red lights were flashing or its stop arm was extended.

NHTSA said cars operated by Alphabet’s Waymo failed to stop for school buses after the fix. The agency said it had received a large number of reports that the vehicles passed school buses that were stopped and flashing red lights or had an extended stop sign following the update.

NHTSA said it was looking into “continued traffic safety violations relating to stopping when encountering a school bus, particularly when the bus is boarding or offboarding students.” The agency particularly identified student boarding and offboarding, while the reports also encompassed the red-light and stop-sign situations described above.

NHTSA investigates safety-related defects in vehicles. The agency said it is handling the Waymo issue as a recall query, one of several types of defect investigation, and that the query will evaluate whether the software fix was adequate. The review could result in another safety fix that Waymo needs to make.

Waymo said safety is central to its mission and that the company prioritizes operating safely around school buses. “We have made significant improvements to vehicle behavior around school buses and have received no citations since March 2026,” a Waymo spokesman said.

The company said it would work with NHTSA to answer the agency’s questions and continue making improvements to its autonomous-vehicle software.

NHTSA’s account and Waymo’s differ on the current state of the issue: the agency cited a large number of reports following the fix, while the company said it had received no citations since March 2026. The inquiry leaves open whether Waymo’s November 2025 update was adequate and whether its vehicles continued passing school buses after the change.