Screenshot of one of many incidents of a Waymo robotaxi illegally passing a stopped faculty bus. | Credit score: Austin ISD
Waymo this week plans to file a voluntary software program recall for its robotaxis. The recall is in response to the corporate’s robotaxis illegally passing stopped faculty buses in a lot of incidents throughout totally different states.
In September, WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired a video displaying a Waymo illegally passing a stopped faculty bus. A month later, the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Waymo round “visitors security violations regarding stopping when encountering a college bus, notably when the bus is boarding or offboarding college students.”
In its investigation, the NHTSA stated a Waymo autonomous automobile (AV) failed to stay stopped when approaching a college bus that was stopped with its lights flashing, cease arm deployed, and a crossing management arm deployed. No security driver was within the automobile throughout the incident, and the automobile was working utilizing Waymo’s Fifth-generation driver. As a part of the investigation, the NHTSA issued a listing of detailed questions concerning the incidents to Waymo.
The NHTSA web site additionally features a letter from the Austin Impartial Faculty District, signed by the district’s senior counsel. Within the letter, faculty district officers say they’ve recorded 19 totally different situations of a Waymo robotaxi “illegally and dangerously” passing Austin faculty buses because the 2025-2026 faculty yr. Moreover, a kind of incidents concerned a Waymo automobile passing a college bus “solely moments after a pupil crossed in entrance of the automobile, and whereas the coed was nonetheless within the highway.”
In line with the letter, 5 of those incidents occurred after Waymo assured the varsity district that it had issued software program updates that might treatment the difficulty. Within the letter, the Austin Impartial Faculty District requested Waymo stop operations throughout the occasions faculty buses can be loading and unloading.
Waymo chief security officer Mauricio Peña despatched the next assertion to The Robotic Report: “Whereas we’re extremely happy with our sturdy security report displaying Waymo experiences twelve occasions fewer harm crashes involving pedestrians than human drivers, holding the very best security requirements means recognizing when our conduct ought to be higher. In consequence, we have now made the choice to file a voluntary software program recall with NHTSA associated to appropriately slowing and stopping in these situations. We’ll proceed analyzing our automobiles’ efficiency and making mandatory fixes as a part of our dedication to steady enchancment.”
Waymo instructed NPR it has recognized the software program difficulty that contributed to the incidents and believes subsequent updates will repair the difficulty. No accidents have occurred throughout these points, in keeping with Waymo.
Waymo’s security report thus far
In line with NHTSA, Waymo’s robotaxis surpassed 100 million miles of driving in July 2025, and the corporate continues to build up 2 million miles every week. The corporate at the moment operates autonomous robotaxis in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Within the U.S., Waymo robotaxis have already pushed greater than 10 million paid rides.
Waymo final issued a voluntary recall in Might 2025, when it recalled 1,212 robotaxis to deal with dangers of collisions with chains, gates, and different roadway obstacles. The corporate stated it resolved the underlying software program difficulty by a November 2024 replace that decreased the probability of a majority of these occasions.
In line with Waymo’s personal security knowledge, its automobiles have been concerned in 91% fewer critical accidents or worse crashes, no matter who’s at fault for the crash. Moreover, its automobiles have been in 92% fewer pedestrian crashes than human drivers.
The corporate will likely be below rising scrutiny because it continues to broaden its service. Waymo intends to broaden or launch providers in Nashville, Las Vegas, San Diego, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Orlando, San Antonio, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Denver within the coming years.
As well as, Waymo is planning to deliver its expertise abroad. It stated it needs to deploy in London in 2026, and it has already deployed take a look at automobiles in Tokyo to be taught native visitors patterns.
Waymo dominates the robotaxi area within the U.S., however there are a variety of firms attempting to catch up. In June 2025, Tesla launched a robotaxi service in Austin. Zoox, an Amazon subsidiary, launched its first public service in San Francisco in November 2025. Moreover, Nuro, a Mountain View, Calif.-based startup, just lately closed a Collection E spherical of $203 million at a $6 billion valuation.
The Robotic Report named Waymo its Robotic of the Yr in 2025.
