Overview
- NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened a recall query on Monday into 2,895 Waymo vehicles to determine whether a December 2025 software remedy fixed a safety defect that let cars pass stopped school buses.
- The agency says a majority of reported violations happened after Waymo said it had fully deployed the update in mid-November 2025, prompting questions about the remedy’s adequacy and root causes.
- Local school districts provided much of the evidence, with Austin documenting 19 separate incidents and Atlanta reporting six, including at least one case where a vehicle stopped briefly then moved forward while a student was crossing.
- A recall query is a formal step that can lead NHTSA to demand a broader recall, require further software changes, or pursue other enforcement if the remedy is found inadequate.
- The action builds on earlier probes that began after October 2025 footage in Atlanta and a January 2026 collision in Santa Monica, raising wider concerns about how autonomous systems handle children, school zones and complex curbside situations.