Waymo has confirmed it will file a voluntary software recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after multiple documented cases in which its driverless taxis failed to properly stop for school buses with flashing red lights and deployed stop signs.
The issue first received attention when a video from Atlanta surfaced in September, showing a Waymo vehicle driving around a stopped school bus during a student pickup. According to a letter sent to NHTSA by the Austin Independent School District, at least 19 similar incidents have been recorded this school year in Texas.
In one case, the robotaxi moved forward just moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the child was still in the road.
Waymo says no one has been injured in any of these incidents, but the company acknowledges that behavior like this must be addressed.
“Holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better,” said Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña. “We plan to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA and will continue analyzing our vehicles’ performance and making necessary fixes.”
The software problem was identified internally, and Waymo says a fix has already been deployed across its fleet as of mid-November. The recall does not require vehicles to be pulled from the road — instead, affected models will receive over-the-air (OTA) updates to improve detection and interaction around school buses.
Despite Waymo’s strong safety claims — including 91% fewer crashes with serious injuries and 92% fewer crashes involving pedestrians compared to human drivers — federal regulators want a deeper understanding of what went wrong. NHTSA investigators have asked the company to document all similar cases and explain its response, setting a deadline of January 20, 2026 for full reporting.
The agency says that with more than 100 million miles of autonomous driving already logged and an additional 2 million miles per week currently being added, “the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high.”
