After NHTSA, US Safety Board Opens Probe Into Waymo Behavior Around School Buses

The probe is aimed at examining the interaction between Alphabet unit Waymo’s autonomous vehicles and school buses stopped for loading and unloading students in Austin, Texas.

• In October, U.S. auto safety regulator NHTSA opened a probe into about 2000 Waymo vehicles over traffic safety violations relating to stopping when encountering a school bus. 
• Austin Independent School District noted in November that it is aware of nineteen different instances of Waymo automated vehicles “illegally and dangerously” passing its school buses.
• Waymo said in December that it has completed a recall and updated software of its vehicles to resolve the issue.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday that it has opened a probe into Waymo vehicles over their interaction with school buses.

The probe is aimed at examining the interaction between Alphabet unit Waymo’s autonomous vehicles and school buses stopped for loading and unloading students in Austin, Texas, the board said.

The Other Probe

This is not the first time that a regulator has taken cognizance of the robotaxi operator’s interaction with school buses. In October, U.S. auto safety regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into about 2000 Waymo vehicles over traffic safety violations relating to stopping when encountering a school bus.

The regulator opened the probe in light of a media report from September which documented a Waymo passing a stopped school bus in Atlanta where it seemingly violated school bus traffic safety laws. The NHTSA highlighted concerns about the risk of crash, injury and property damage in its communications with the Alphabet unit.

Austin Independent School District also noted in November that it is aware of nineteen different instances of Waymo automated vehicles “illegally and dangerously” passing its school buses in violation of Texas law since the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. It further alleged that Waymo’s automated vehicles were averaging 1.5 violations per week.

The organization also demanded that Waymo immediately cease operations of its vehicles during pick-up and drop-off hours of the day until it can guarantee that its vehicles comply with law.

Waymo said in December that it has completed a recall and updated software of its vehicles to resolve the issue.

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