Waymo faces U.S. recall query over school bus safety in 2,895 vehicles

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Waymo recall over school bus safety

Highlights

NHTSA opened a recall query into 2,895 Waymo vehicles after reports of post-remedy violations involving school bus stop procedures.
Waymo's December 2025 software update, intended to fix school bus passing behavior, is under review after most incidents occurred after the remedy's rollout.
The probe intensifies regulatory scrutiny of Waymo and raises compliance risks amid broader U.S. investigations into autonomous vehicle safety near schools.

Regulator reviews software remedy after recall

As reported by Reuters, citing the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency has opened a recall query into 2,895 vehicles operated by Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo over continued traffic safety violations tied to how the vehicles behave when encountering school buses.

NHTSA says it is reviewing whether a software update implemented by Waymo under a December 2025 recall adequately addressed a defect that could cause the vehicles to pass school buses displaying flashing red lights or extended stop arms after initially slowing or stopping.

The regulator says most of the incidents occur after November 2025, when Waymo says it had completed the software remedy for all affected vehicles. The recall query is intended to assess whether that remedy is adequate and to determine the causes of the post-remedy incidents.

Broader scrutiny for autonomous vehicle safety

The action adds to ongoing regulatory attention on the autonomous vehicle sector, where software performance in complex road situations remains a central safety issue. For Waymo, the query raises operational and compliance risks because it focuses on whether a completed recall fix continues to leave vehicles exposed to violations involving school buses.

Separately, NHTSA opened another probe in January after one of Waymo's self-driving vehicles struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California. That earlier investigation underscores the broader regulatory focus on how autonomous systems operate around schools and other sensitive traffic environments.

Our earlier coverage on the intensifying AI safety debate highlighted how governments and major developers are weighing tighter safeguards as systems rapidly advance. We noted growing interest in international coordination— including possible U.S.-China incident channels and a potential UK role as a neutral venue— to manage cross-border risks and prevent misuse.

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