The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into Waymo following multiple reports of its self-driving robotaxis illegally passing stopped school buses in Austin, Texas. At least 19 such incidents have been reported since the start of the school year, with Waymo vehicles failing to obey state traffic laws meant to protect children getting on and off buses.
According to Reuters, these incidents occurred even after Waymo recalled more than 3,000 vehicles in December last year to update the software that caused the vehicles to drive past stopped school buses. This reportedly prompted the NTSB to launch its own probe.
Waymo has acknowledged these violations but stressed that none of the encounters resulted in collisions and that its autonomous system handles school bus situations “thousands of times” each week across the US. The company said it is constantly improving its technology and believes its overall safety record around buses surpasses that of human drivers.
The NTSB’s action follows an ongoing review by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that began last October after early reports of Waymo’s robotaxis driving past school buses emerged. While Waymo has since updated its software, the issue hasn’t completely been resolved.
Austin officials call for a temporary halt
Local officials in Austin have been pushing for Waymo to halt operations during school pick-up and drop-off times until its system can fully comply with the law. School district leaders have voiced concern that the repeated violations, including at least one near-miss with a student who had just crossed in front of a robotaxi, put children at risk. Waymo has declined to suspend services so far.
The probes against Waymo highlight growing scrutiny of autonomous vehicle technology just as competition in the space heats up, with Tesla also beginning real-world testing of its robotaxi ambitions in Austin.