NHTSA investigates if Waymo robotaxis are still running school bus stop signs

Waymo’s 2025 software recall may be less effective than initially thought.

By Jackson Chen Updated: Nov. 9, 2026 4:18 pm EST Robin Marchant/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

Several months after Waymo issued a voluntary software recall on its robotaxis for running red lights and stop signs from stopped school buses, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the recall's effectiveness. The recall query began on Friday to determine whether Waymo's update worked, since "a majority of incidents occurred after the ... remedy date."

The latest investigation from the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation referenced Waymo's software recall in late 2025, which itself followed an investigation from the agency into the root issue. NHTSA's first probe revealed that Waymo's robotaxis were documented driving past stopped school buses with flashing red lights and stop sign arms deployed in Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Texas. While the software recall was installed across the entire robotaxi fleet and completed in November 2025, the NHTSA's newest investigation will determine if the update actually fixed the problem and to "identify the causes of the conditions leading to the post-remedy reports." 

"Safety is central to Waymo's mission, and operating safely around school buses is a responsibility we take seriously," a Waymo spokesperson told Engadget, adding that the company received no citations since March 2026. "Once received, we'll work to respond to NHTSA's query and look forward to continuing our engagement on recall processes for AV software that continues to learn and improve."

The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation also opened a probe looking into an incident where a Waymo robotaxi hit a child in Santa Monica, California in January. Beyond the NHTSA's inquiries, the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency, launched its own investigation into Waymo's robotaxi behavior around stopped school buses earlier this year.