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A U.S. safety agency has opened an investigation into Waymo, after its autonomous vehicles were allegedly caught driving past stopped school buses in Austin, Texas, according to a letter sent by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the company on Dec. 3.
In a statement to FOX Business, Austin Independent School District (AISD) police said Waymo self-driving vehicles have been cited 20 times as of Monday, and that the company has refused to halt operations until the issue is properly resolved.
Footage provided by AISD shows at least 19 incidents since the school year began in which Waymo vehicles drove past stopped school buses with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed, while pedestrians were visibly walking in nearby streets and crosswalks. The videos show that in some cases, Waymo vehicles initially slowed or stopped for school buses before proceeding through.
In its letter to the company, the NHTSA said it has opened an evaluation into the “performance of the Waymo ADS around stopped school buses and the system’s ability to follow traffic safety laws concerning school buses.”
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The agency added that “such unexpected driving behaviors or not complying with traffic safety laws concerning school buses may increase the risk of crash, injury, and property damage.”
AISD Chief of Police Wayne Sneed said in a statement to FOX Business that Waymo has refused to halt operations until the company can ensure its vehicles will not violate the law.
“Despite numerous requests, Waymo has refused to cease operations,” Sneed said.
“Additionally, we presented them with another video dated Dec. 1, 2025, showing one of their vehicles passing another one of our buses while students were loading. In this instance, the bus was and had been stopped with red flashing lights and activated for nearly a full minute before their vehicle passed—an unequivocal violation of State Law.”
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Sneed added that Waymo was notified of the issue in mid-November, and while the company said it has since resolved the issue, alleged violations have continued.
“They reported that programming changes had been implemented in mid-November to correct previous violations. However, the Dec. 1, 2025 incident indicates that those programming changes did not resolve the issue or our concerns,” Sneed said.
Reuters previously reported that in a Nov. 20 letter posted by the NHTSA, the AISD said five incidents occurred that month after Waymo said it had made software updates to address the problem.
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Waymo confirmed to FOX Business on Thursday that when the company became aware of the issue, it moved quickly to address it and implemented updates by Nov. 17.
The company said the updates have “meaningfully improved performance” to a level better than even human drivers. Waymo also claimed that its records show that Waymo proceeded cautiously when no one was present.
“Improving road safety is our top priority at Waymo and we’re deeply invested in safe interaction with school buses. We swiftly implemented software updates to address this and will continue to rapidly improve,” a Waymo spokesperson said.
The investigation comes as Waymo is reportedly planning to expand its self-driving service to Dallas in 2026, according to FOX 4 Dallas, which added that the company is currently road-testing its vehicles in the city.
