Waymo says it has addressed a problem in which its driverless taxis passed school buses while the buses' red lights were flashing, but the U.S. government says it has received reports of such incidents since the fix and is investigating.
Autonomous vehicles · Waymo · Federal investigation
Waymo says it fixed school bus behavior. Regulators say reports continue.
Driverless taxis reportedly passed school buses with flashing red lights. Waymo says the behavior is corrected, but the U.S. government has received reports since the fix and has opened an investigation.
How the sequence unfolded
STEP 1
Problem
Vehicles pass school buses displaying flashing red lights.
→
STEP 2
Waymo fix
The company says it corrected the vehicles' behavior.
→
STEP 3
Reports continue
The government says it has received reports after the fix.
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STEP 4
Investigation
The U.S. government has opened an investigation.
Waymo's position
The behavior in these situations has been corrected.
The company has addressed the underlying problem.
Government's position
Reports of similar incidents continued after the fix.
An investigation is open into the matter.
Why it matters
With no human driver aboard, the software's handling of school buses is the core safety question.
Post-fix reports, if substantiated, would suggest the problem is not fully resolved.
Regulators may scrutinize how operators verify and document corrections.
Public trust in robotaxis often depends on performance around children and routine traffic rules.
Still unconfirmed: the number of reports, when the fix was deployed, and the government's specific concerns.
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