December 9, 2025 – Waymo, the well – known autonomous vehicle company, has announced a software recall for its self – driving cars. This move comes in the wake of reports from local authorities in Texas. Since the start of the school year, there have been at least 19 instances where Waymo vehicles allegedly violated the law by overtaking school buses.
Back in October, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into the behavior of Waymo vehicles when they were near school buses. It also demanded that Waymo provide an explanation for these incidents by January 20.
Mauricio Pena, Waymo’s Chief Safety Officer, stated that adhering to the highest safety standards requires acknowledging areas for improvement. As a result, Waymo took the initiative to submit a software recall application to the NHTSA. The aim is to guarantee that self – driving vehicles can properly slow down and stop in relevant scenarios. Pena emphasized that the software update Waymo has already deployed has significantly enhanced the vehicles’ performance.
Waymo pointed out that these incidents were related to software glitches. After initially slowing down or stopping for school buses, the vehicles would continue moving. The company said it would keep a close eye on the situation and roll out more updates if necessary.
According to a letter from the NHTSA made public on November 20, the Austin Independent School District recorded five incidents in November. These occurred even after Waymo updated its software. The school district requested that Waymo stop operating around schools during student pick – up and drop – off times until it could fully comply with regulations.
In the letter, the school district’s lawyer wrote, “Waymo cannot continue to expose students to risks while attempting to make fixes.” The lawyer also mentioned an incident where a vehicle was recorded overtaking a stopped school bus shortly after a student crossed in front of it and was still on the road.
The school district informed Reuters that Waymo refused to suspend its operations around schools. In response, Waymo said it would “continue to operate” and believed that the latest software update had made its performance in this crucial scenario “superior to that of human drivers”.
