Video provided by Austin Independent School District in Texas Waymo’s autonomous school buses by 2025, raising new safety concerns about the technology.
The US safety agency has opened an investigation into Waymo, after it was caught driving past school buses in Austin, Texas, according to letters sent by the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) to the camp in Decen. 3.
In a statement to Fox Business, the Austin Independent Police Department (aisd) said Walmo Del-Driving Vehicles have been cited 20 times since Monday, and that the company has refused to suspend operations until the problem is properly resolved.
Footage provided by AISD shows at least 19 incidents since the school year began in which antique minibuses have appeared to suddenly roll away, while pedestrians are threatened on nearby streets and crosswalks. Videos show that in some cases, Waymo vehicles initially slow down or stop school buses before continuing.
In its letter to the company, NHTSA said it has opened a review of “the effectiveness of Waymo’s advertisements surrounding school bus stops and the safety features of the following school buses.”
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Security Fook Shows a White Waymo self-driving car passing a parked school bus with its stop signs extended and lights flashing in Austin, Texas. (Austin Independent School District / Fox News)
The agency added that “such reckless driving behaviors or those that do not comply with school bus safety regulations can increase the risk of crashes, injuries, and property damage.”
Aisd Chief of Police Wayne Sloed told Fox Business that Waymo has refused to halt operations until the company can confirm that its vehicles will not violate the law.
“Despite multiple requests, Waymo has refused to stop operations,” Snoed said.
“Additionally, we submitted another hit video on December 1, 2025, showing one of their vehicles passing one of our buses while running a red light and removing almost a full minute before their vehicle swerved.”
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Waymo is a successful car driving school bus station in Austin, Texas. (Austin Independent School District / Fox News)
SNED added that it was aware that Waymo was notified of the issue in mid-November, and while the company said it has since resolved the issue, the alleged breach has continued.
“They reported that programmatic changes were implemented in mid-November to prepare for the previous breach. However, incident 202, 2025 shows that those programmatic changes did not resolve the problem or our concerns,” Snoed said.
Reuters previously reported that on the 20th Letter sent by NHTSA, AISD said five incidents occurred that month after Waymo said it was making software updates to address the problem.
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A Waymo Autonoom SUV is seen driving through a bus stop while the bus is parked with its arms out and red lights flashing in Austin, Texas. (Austin Independent School District / Fox News)
Waymo confirmed to FOX Business on Thursday that when the company became aware of the issue, it moved quickly to address it and work through updates on November 17.
The company said the updates were purposefully developed “to a level better than human drivers. Waymo also said its records show that Waymo was vigilant where none had been.”
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“Improving road safety is a priority for us at Waymo and we are heavily invested in safe communication with school buses. We also quickly implement improvements,” said a Waymo spokesperson.
The investigation comes as Waymo is said to be planning to expand its self-driving service to Dallas by 2026, according to FOX 4 Dallas testing its roads in the city.
