Waymo faces federal probe for dodgy driving around school buses

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Waymo following reports that the company's robotaxis illegally drove past stopped school buses in Austin, Texas. In a letter sent to Waymo on Wednesday, the federal regulator's Office of Defects Investigation asked for detailed information on Waymo's fifth-generation self-driving system and expressed concern that the Alphabet-owned company's vehicles were showing unexpected or illegal behavior around school buses."

"However, the problem appears to have persisted. In a letter dated November 20, the Austin Independent School District said it had evidence of 19 separate incidents in which Waymo vehicles had been recorded driving past stopped school buses since the start of the school year. At least five of these happened after the company said it issued an update to fix the problem."

"The school district asked Waymo to cease self-driving operations around school pick-up and drop-off times. The district told Reuters the company had refused to halt operations around schools and claimed another incident involving an actively loading school bus occurred on December 1. In an email dated November 24, the NHTSA explicitly asked Waymo to "let us know if you have ceased operations during these times as requested or plan to cease," and to confirm whether a software fix had been implemented."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Waymo after reports that its robotaxis drove past stopped school buses in Austin, Texas. The regulator's Office of Defects Investigation requested detailed information on Waymo's fifth-generation self-driving system and raised concerns about unexpected or illegal behavior around school buses. Video from an earlier Georgia incident showed a Waymo vehicle pass a stopped bus with red lights flashing and stop arms deployed. Waymo said safety is its top priority and issued software updates, but the Austin Independent School District reported 19 incidents since the school year began, including multiple occurrences after the update. The district requested Waymo halt operations during pick-up and drop-off times, an action the company reportedly refused, and NHTSA asked Waymo to confirm whether operations had been ceased and whether a software fix had been implemented. The company has faced prior federal probes.

Read at The Verge