Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing service owned by Alphabet, announced plans to issue a voluntary software recall after multiple reports showed its self-driving vehicles passing stopped school buses. The recall comes amid an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which began in October following a media report of a Waymo vehicle failing to stop for a school bus displaying flashing red lights, an extended stop arm, and a deployed crossing control arm.
The Austin Independent School District reported 19 instances where Waymo vehicles allegedly drove past stopped buses, including a case where a car passed a bus just moments after a student had crossed the street. Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña said the company identified a software issue contributing to the incidents and is taking steps to correct it. Peña emphasized that no injuries have occurred and said the company plans to file the recall with NHTSA early next week while continuing to analyze vehicle performance. Waymo has highlighted that its autonomous cars have far fewer crashes than human-driven vehicles, citing 91% fewer serious injury crashes and 92% fewer pedestrian injury crashes in the cities where it operates. NHTSA has requested detailed documentation of similar incidents and set a response deadline of Jan. 20, 2026.