NHTSA investigates Waymo robotaxis over school bus stop sign compliance

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a fresh probe on Friday to assess whether Waymo's software recall for its robotaxi fleet has effectively stopped the vehicles from ignoring school‑bus stop signs.

Waymo issued a voluntary recall in late 2025 after its autonomous cars were reported to run red lights and pass stopped school buses with flashing lights and deployed stop‑sign arms in Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Texas. The agency's earlier defect investigation had documented those incidents, prompting the recall that was rolled out to the whole fleet and finished in November 2025.

The new query, filed by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, will examine if the software update truly remedied the problem and will aim to pinpoint why reports continued to surface after the remedy date, noting that most of the later incidents happened after the recall.

"Safety is central to Waymo's mission, and operating safely around school buses is a responsibility we take seriously," a Waymo spokesperson told Engadget, adding that the company received no citations since March 2026. "Once received, we'll work to respond to NHTSA's query and look forward to continuing our engagement on recall processes for AV software that continues to learn and improve."

In addition, the NHTSA opened a separate investigation into a January crash in Santa Monica, California, where a Waymo robotaxi struck a child. The National Transportation Safety Board has also started its own review of Waymo's behaviour around stationary school buses earlier this year.