Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are under increased scrutiny after being repeatedly recorded illegally passing stopped school buses with flashing red lights and deployed stop arms, prompting responses from school districts and a federal safety investigation.
In Austin, Texas, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) has documented at least 20 incidents during the 2025–26 school year involving Waymo vehicles failing to stop for school buses while students were boarding or exiting. Video footage published by FOX 7 Austin shows Waymo robotaxis driving past buses with red lights flashing, behavior that violates Texas law. In one widely shared clip, a Waymo vehicle passes a stopped school bus as children are present near the roadway.
AISD officials say the violations continued even after Waymo deployed a software update intended to address the issue. According to reporting by KVUE, the district has issued citations using stop-arm camera footage and has asked Waymo to pause operations during student pickup and drop-off hours, a request the company has declined.
Similar incidents have been reported in Atlanta, Georgia, where an 11Alive investigation identified at least six cases of Waymo vehicles passing stopped Atlanta Public Schools buses. Video footage aired by 11Alive shows a Waymo vehicle slowing near a stopped bus before driving around it, including past an extended crossing arm, while students were exiting.
Waymo has acknowledged shortcomings in how its autonomous driving system responded to stopped school buses and issued a voluntary software recall affecting more than 3,000 vehicles, according to Community Impact. The company said the update was designed to improve detection of school buses displaying red lights and stop arms and reiterated that safety remains its top priority.
The issue has drawn the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which opened a preliminary evaluation into Waymo’s autonomous driving system in late 2025. According to Spotlight South Cobb News, the investigation is reviewing incidents in both Austin and Atlanta, including cases where Waymo vehicles appeared to slow or stop before proceeding past a school bus. NHTSA has requested detailed information from Waymo on system design, incident data, and corrective actions. The evaluation remains ongoing.
