Waymo To Recall Robotaxis Over Failure To Stop For School Buses

Waymo to Recall Robotaxis Over Failure to Stop for School Buses

Last updated: 2025/12/08 at 5:28 AM

News Room Published 8 December 2025

Waymo will be issuing a software recall for its robotaxis following complaints about their incorrect driving around stopped school buses. This is a voluntary software recall, and it will be filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) early this week, the company said.

Software recalls work differently from traditional safety recalls. As Engadget reports, they’re fixed with over-the-air (OTA) updates and don’t necessarily require cars to be taken off the road.

Waymo’s problems around school buses began surfacing in October. Back then, the NHTSA opened an investigation following media reports of a Waymo AV going past a stopped school bus in Atlanta.

Soon after the probe was initiated, Waymo said it had fixed the problems with an update. However, they remained unresolved.

On Nov. 20, the Austin Independent School District wrote to Waymo saying it had proof of at least 19 violations caused by the company’s robotaxis around school buses—five of them were after Waymo claimed to have fixed the issue. In one of those five incidents, the car began moving after a student had walked past it but was still on the road.

In its letter, the school district also requested Waymo to cease operations during common school pick-up and drop-off times until the issue was resolved. On Nov. 24, the NHTSA followed up on the request, asking Waymo to confirm if its plans to cease operations or file a recall to fix the issue.

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Waymo confirmed the recall last week. “Holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better,” Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, told The Verge. “As a result, we have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to appropriately slowing and stopping in these scenarios.”

The defect was found in Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system (ADS). The company previously recalled approximately 1,200 vehicles when the same software had caused its cars to run into roadside barriers, such as chains and gates.