US NHTSA Investigates Waymo Robotaxis for Continuing School Bus Violations After Software Fix
US regulator NHTSA has opened a new probe into whether Waymo's last-year software update adequately fixed illegal school bus passing incidents.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filed documents on November 6 announcing a new "recall query" investigation into Alphabet-owned Waymo's robotaxis. The probe aims to assess whether the software update deployed by Waymo last November was adequate to resolve issues with vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses.
According to TechCrunch, NHTSA noted that a majority of the reported incidents actually occurred after Waymo completed the software update for all affected vehicles. This finding prompted the agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) to open proceedings to evaluate the remedy's effectiveness.
Previously, Waymo faced an initial investigation in October 2025 after footage showed its vehicles maneuvering around stopped school buses with flashing lights in Atlanta and Austin. Despite completing the software update on November 17, 2025, regulatory data suggests the behavior persisted. Waymo has not yet publicly responded, and the NHTSA investigation remains ongoing.