Nearly a year ago, Waymo updated its autonomous driving software and initiated a recall after receiving multiple reports that its robotic taxis were illegally passing by school buses that had stopped and had their red flashing lights on. Now, federal safety regulatory agencies have launched a new investigation into why this behavior continues to occur.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated in a document submitted on November 6th that most of these reported incidents occurred after companies deployed software updates intended to fix the issue.

Reuters was the first to report on this document.

Waymo stated last year that software updates for all affected vehicles were completed on November 17, 2025. However, NHTSA mentioned that most incidents occurred after the software updates. The NHTSA Defect Investigation Office ( ODI ) has initiated a "recall inquiry" to "evaluate whether the remedial measures are sufficient."

In October 2025, ODI initiated a preliminary investigation into Waymo. At that time, regulatory authorities observed a video showing an autonomous vehicle from Waymo bypassing a parked school bus in Atlanta. The school bus had its stop sign extended and its warning lights flashing, and children were being asked to get off the bus. In that incident, a Waymo robotic taxi passed perpendicularly in front of the school bus from the right side, then turned left in front of it before continuing to drive along the street.

In the following weeks and months, several similar incidents were recorded in Austin, and Waymo was also operating a robotic taxi service in the area. According to a letter submitted to NHTSA, officials from the Austin Independent School District reported at least five such incidents at that time.

TechCrunch has contacted Waymo and officials from the Austin Independent School District to solicit their comments. If there are any responses, this article will be updated.