Waymo recalls software after robotaxis pass stopped school buses

A Waymo software release, broadly deployed in mid-September 2025, changed how its robotaxis predicted what other road users would do. Afterward, some cars slowed or stopped for a school bus with red lights flashing, then drove on before the bus retracted its stop arm. The software had judged it was impeding the bus and should move. NHTSA opened an investigation in October after video showed a Waymo driving around a stopped bus in Atlanta. The Austin school district counted 19 illegal passes, at least five after Waymo's November fix. On December 10, Waymo filed a recall covering 3,067 vehicles. It said no collisions occurred and it knew of 12 citations.