— Waymo (Google) driverless vehicles and school buses are not getting along, a fact made evident by a recall of more than 3,000 Waymo automated driving systems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation in October following media reports of Waymo automated vehicles driving past deployed school bus warnings.
The Waymo recall affects its 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS) software beginning with the August 20, 2025, driverless software release and prior to the November 5, 2025, driverless software release.
Problems with school buses were reported in Georgia and Texas, with the driverless Waymo vehicles stopped or stopping for a school buses with their red lights flashing and/or stop arms extended. The problem was the Waymos continued moving before the school buses deactivated the flashing lights and arms.
Waymo's recall documents describe the "reasoning" used by the automated system:
"Waymo has designed the ADS to include features that avoid impeding progress of priority vehicles in the community, such as public buses and school buses. Instances of proceeding again before the school bus had deactivated flashing lights and/or retracted the stop arm could occur if, while yielding to the school bus, the ADS determined that it may be impeding the school bus or another priority vehicle, and then reasoned that it should proceed in order to cease impeding the other vehicle."
The obvious problem, other than being illegal, is how driving past a stopped school bus may result in a collision with something or someone, but Waymo says there have been no such reports.
The company also says the "full sensor suite of the ADS designed to detect and avoid vulnerable road users and collisions remained fully functional while driving past a stopped school bus."
However, in less than a two-month period Waymo was hit with 12 citations regarding automated vehicles driving past school bus warnings.
And although this is labeled a "recall," it doesn't affect consumers because consumers don't own the automated vehicles. In addition, the recall was just announced but the automated Waymo vehicles were repaired through a November 17 automated driving system software update.