The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Waymo for more information about its self-driving system and operations. This request follows reports from the Austin School District that Waymo’s robotaxis illegally passed school buses 19 times this year.
In a December 3 letter to Waymo, regulators requested detailed information about its fifth-generation self-driving system. This letter comes two months after the agency opened an investigation into how Waymo’s robotaxis perform around stopped school buses.
The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation opened its initial investigation into the Alphabet-owned company in October. This was prompted by footage of a Waymo autonomous vehicle maneuvering around a stopped school bus that was unloading children in Atlanta. In that incident, the robotaxi crossed perpendicularly in front of the school bus from its right side, then turned left around the front of the bus before driving away. The bus had its stop sign extended and lights flashing at the time.
Waymo stated that the bus was partially blocking a driveway and that its robotaxi could not see the flashing lights or stop sign. The company also said it issued a software update to its fleet to improve performance.
However, reports of Waymo robotaxis illegally passing school buses have continued even after this fix. The Austin School District reported 19 different instances since the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. The district noted that at least five of these violations occurred after Waymo said it updated its software on November 17.
In a statement, Waymo said safety is its top priority. The company cited data showing its robotaxis are improving road safety, with a fivefold reduction in injury-related crashes compared to human drivers and twelve times fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians.
“We have already made software updates to improve our performance and are committed to continuous improvement,” the statement continued. “NHTSA plays a vital role in road safety, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the agency as part of our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver.” Waymo contends that the software updates have meaningfully improved performance to a level better than human drivers in this area.
The Austin School District appears to disagree. They have asked Waymo to cease operations during certain times of the day when students are arriving and departing from school.
“Waymo’s software updates are clearly not working as intended nor as quickly as required,” the district’s November 20 letter to Waymo reads. “We cannot allow Waymo to continue endangering our students while it attempts to implement a fix. Accordingly, Austin ISD demands that Waymo immediately cease operation of its automated vehicles during the hours of 5:20 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., until more in-depth software updates are completed and Waymo can guarantee its vehicles will comply with the law.”
Federal regulators with the Office of Defects Investigation sent Waymo a letter four days later, noting they had been alerted by Austin school district officials. The investigators asked if Waymo had ceased operations per the school district’s request, if its software fix had mitigated this concern, and if Waymo planned to file a recall.