Video provided by the Austin Independent School District in Texas shows a Waymo self-driving vehicle passing a stopped school bus in 2025, raising new safety concerns about the technology.
US security officials have launched an investigation into Waymo. self-driving car According to a letter sent to the company on Dec. 3 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the driver was accused of passing a stopped school bus in Austin, Texas.
Austin Independent School District (AISD) Police Department said in a statement to FOX Business that there have been 20 arrests of Waymo self-driving cars as of Monday, and the company is refusing to take them out of service until the issues are properly resolved.
In at least 19 incidents since the start of the school year, footage provided by AISD shows Waymo vehicles passing school buses stopped with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed while pedestrians can be seen walking on nearby roads and crosswalks. Video shows that in some cases, Waymo vehicles initially slowed or stopped for school buses before passing.
In a letter to the company, NHTSA said it has begun evaluating “Waymo ADS’ performance around stopped school buses and the system’s ability to comply with traffic safety laws regarding school buses.”
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A white Waymo self-driving car is seen on surveillance camera rolling out a stop sign and flashing its lights as it passes a parked school bus in Austin, Texas. (Austin Independent School District/Fox News)
“These unpredictable driving behaviors and failure to comply with road safety laws regarding school buses can increase the risk of collisions, injuries, and property damage,” the agency added.
A.I.S.D. police chief Wayne Snead said in a statement to FOX Business that Waymo has refused to shut down operations until it can confirm that its vehicles are not violating the law.
“Despite numerous requests, Waymo has refused to cease operations,” Sneed said.
“Additionally, we presented them with another video dated December 1, 2025, which shows one vehicle passing another bus while students were loading their bags. In this case, the bus was stopped with a flashing red light and operated for almost a full minute before their vehicle passed. This is a clear violation of state law.”
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A Waymo self-driving car passes a parked school bus in Austin, Texas. (Austin Independent School District/Fox News)
Snead said Waymo was notified of the issue in mid-November and has since resolved it, but added that the alleged violations continue.
“They reported that program changes were implemented in mid-November to correct previous violations. However, the incident on December 1, 2025 shows that those program changes did not resolve the issues or our concerns,” Sneed said.
Reuters previously reported in a Nov. 20 letter posted by NHTSA: A.I.S.D. The company said five incidents occurred in the same month after Waymo announced it had issued a software update to address the issue.
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In Austin, Texas, a Waymo self-driving SUV was seen driving through a school bus stop zone while the bus parked with its stop arm extended and red lights flashing. (Austin Independent School District/Fox News)
Waymo confirmed to FOX Business on Thursday that once it became aware of the issue, it acted quickly and implemented an update by November 17th.
The company said the update “significantly improved performance” to a level superior to human drivers. Waymo also claimed that its records show that Waymo proceeded with caution when no one was present.
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A Waymo spokesperson said, “Improving road safety is a top priority for Waymo, and we are deeply invested in safe interactions with school buses. We have rapidly implemented software updates to address this and will continue to make rapid improvements.”
The study comes amid reports that Waymo plans to expand its self-driving service. To Dallas According to 2026 FOX 4 Dallasadded that the company is currently conducting road tests on the vehicle in the city.
