Waymo—Recalled 3,067 robotaxis after 20+ school bus violation incidents in Austin and Atlanta
NHTSA opened investigation after Waymo vehicles repeatedly passed stopped school buses with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed. Austin ISD documented 20+ citations since August 2025. Company claimed software fix in November but violations continued. Faces potential penalties up to $139M.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Consumer Protection | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.550 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.73)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (3 signals)
Recalled 3,067 robotaxis after 20+ school bus violation incidents in Austin and Atlanta
NHTSA opened investigation after Waymo vehicles repeatedly passed stopped school buses with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed. Austin ISD documented 20+ citations since August 2025. Company claimed software fix in November but violations continued. Faces potential penalties up to $139M.
NPR reported Waymo issued voluntary software recall of 3,067 robotaxis over school bus violations in Austin and Atlanta
NPR reported on December 6, 2025 that Waymo filed a voluntary software recall with NHTSA for 3,067 robotaxis after vehicles passed stopped school buses with red lights flashing and stop signs extended. Austin documented 20+ instances since the 2025-2026 school year began. NHTSA opened an investigation in October 2025 after Atlanta Public Schools footage emerged. Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Pena stated 'holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better.'
TechCrunch reported Waymo issued software recall after NHTSA investigation found robotaxis passing school buses with stop signs extended
TechCrunch reported on December 5, 2025 that Waymo would issue a voluntary software recall for its 5th Generation Automated Driving System across 3,067 vehicles. The recall came after NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened an investigation in October 2025 following footage from Atlanta Public Schools showing school bus violations. Notably, violations continued after the recall, with Austin ISD documenting additional incidents averaging 1.5 violations per week.