Waymo to file voluntary software recall regarding self-driving cars illegally passing school buses

AUSTIN, Texas - Waymo, the company behind the self-driving vehicles seen across Austin, says it will be filing a voluntary software recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall concerns the cars not slowing and stopping near school buses and comes after Austin ISD shared it had videos of the cars illegally passing buses 20 times since the first week of classes in August.

What they're saying:

Waymo's Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña released this statement to FOX 7 Austin Friday:

"While we are incredibly proud of our strong safety record showing Waymo experiences twelve times fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians than human drivers, holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better. As a result, we have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to appropriately slowing and stopping in these scenarios. We will continue analyzing our vehicles’ performance and making necessary fixes as part of our commitment to continuous improvement."

Waymo says that the recall should be filed early next week and be shared publicly on the NHTSA's website in the following days.

According to the company, a software issue was identified that contributed to the incidents, and that software updates implemented in mid-November "have meaningfully improved performance to a level better than human drivers in this important areas."

Waymo also says no injuries have been reported related to what's being addressed by the recall.

Waymo cars pass AISD buses 20 times, district says

Austin ISD has videos showing Waymo, a self-driving vehicle, illegally passing its school buses 20 times since the first week of classes, August 2025, to now.

The backstory:

NHTSA had launched a preliminary evaluation to investigate autonomous vehicles after an incident in Atlanta where a Waymo car had been seen passing a school bus while its flashing lights were on and its stop arm was out.

This incident prompted Austin ISD to review its school bus footage. In some of the footage shared with FOX 7 Austin, there are several documented instances of Waymo cars continuing to accelerate past school buses while students are getting on and off.

VIDEO: Waymo cited for school bus violations

Austin Independent School District has released video of 19 school bus violations involving Waymo vehicles.

AISD says it requested Waymo to pause services during a four-hour block in the mornings and evenings when the buses would be most active. However, the district says that Waymo declined the request and disagreed with the risk assessment.

AISD also told FOX 7 Austin that it has seen several more instances since the reported software upgrades went into effect.