Report: Waymo cars passed Atlanta school buses at least 6 times
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A Waymo car sits in traffic on Collier Road in Buckhead. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
Waymo autonomous vehicles are coming under scrutiny after the robotaxis passed stopped school buses on several occasions in Atlanta.
Why it matters: The latest mishap raises questions on how effectively self-driving vehicles can respond to a variety of issues that crop up on city streets.
- Waymo vehicles have been involved in a slew of incidents across the country, including running over a cat in San Francisco and driving through a police traffic stop in Los Angeles.
- In Atlanta, a Waymo vehicle tried to continue on a road that was closed, only to stop when it detected a police officer in front of the car (it eventually turned around).
- Videos have also been recorded of the vehicles turning on streets closed for construction and pausing in the middle of intersections.
The latest: Atlanta Public Schools has recorded six instances where the vehicles drove past buses that had their stop arms out, an indication that they were either picking up or dropping off children, 11 Alive reports.
- APS has told its bus drivers to make sure the autonomous vehicles come to a complete stop before they open their doors, according to 11 Alive.
Catch up quick: Waymo vehicles began operating over the summer in select parts of the city.
State of play: The incidents in Atlanta, which have also occurred in other states, prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open a preliminary investigation and for Waymo to issue a voluntary software recall of its self-driving taxis, Axios' Joann Muller reports.
- The company said it identified a software issue that indicated the cars may initially slow down or stop for a school bus, but kept moving.
- A software update was issued Nov. 17 and Waymo said the change improved the taxis' performance in those scenarios.
Yes, but: Waymo taxis passing school buses happened at least three times in the Austin Independent School District — after Waymo installed the software update.
- The district relayed that information to NHTSA, which is seeking more details about the company's response to the incidents by Jan. 20, 2026.
What we're watching: 11 Alive reports that state Sen. Rick Williams, who is writing legislation that would provide oversight on autonomous vehicles, is inquiring whether the cars can be taken off the roads until the issues are fixed.