Self-Driving Cars Cause Concern as Waymo's Robotaxis Pass Stopped School Buses, Investigation Expands
Federal regulators have announced an expansion of their investigation into Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Alphabet Inc., amid reports that its self-driving cars have navigated around school buses stopped on the road in Austin, Texas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been looking into the performance of Waymo's vehicles and their ability to follow traffic safety laws.
According to sources, 20 incidents this school year in Austin, where a Waymo vehicle illegally passed a school bus with flashing red lights and a deployed stop-arm signal, have been reported by the local school district. The NHTSA has stated that all 50 U.S. states have laws requiring vehicles to halt for stopped school buses.
Waymo has acknowledged the issue and claimed to have identified the software problem that contributed to the incidents. The company implemented updates on November 17, which it says improved its vehicle's performance. However, local officials in Austin remain concerned about road safety, as Waymo received its 20th citation since the beginning of the school year.
The Austin Independent School District had requested that Waymo cease operations during hours when students are loading and unloading from school buses until software updates were completed and the company could guarantee compliance with traffic laws. Waymo refused to do so.
In response to the NHTSA probe, Waymo highlighted its overall safety record, stating that it has achieved a fivefold reduction in injury-related crashes compared to human drivers. However, the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where a Waymo vehicle drove around a stopped school bus with flashing red lights and a deployed stop-arm signal, raised concerns.
Waymo plans to issue a voluntary software recall with NHTSA next week, as part of its commitment to continuous improvement. The company will continue analyzing its vehicles' performance and making necessary fixes to ensure public safety.
Federal regulators have announced an expansion of their investigation into Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Alphabet Inc., amid reports that its self-driving cars have navigated around school buses stopped on the road in Austin, Texas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been looking into the performance of Waymo's vehicles and their ability to follow traffic safety laws.
According to sources, 20 incidents this school year in Austin, where a Waymo vehicle illegally passed a school bus with flashing red lights and a deployed stop-arm signal, have been reported by the local school district. The NHTSA has stated that all 50 U.S. states have laws requiring vehicles to halt for stopped school buses.
Waymo has acknowledged the issue and claimed to have identified the software problem that contributed to the incidents. The company implemented updates on November 17, which it says improved its vehicle's performance. However, local officials in Austin remain concerned about road safety, as Waymo received its 20th citation since the beginning of the school year.
The Austin Independent School District had requested that Waymo cease operations during hours when students are loading and unloading from school buses until software updates were completed and the company could guarantee compliance with traffic laws. Waymo refused to do so.
In response to the NHTSA probe, Waymo highlighted its overall safety record, stating that it has achieved a fivefold reduction in injury-related crashes compared to human drivers. However, the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where a Waymo vehicle drove around a stopped school bus with flashing red lights and a deployed stop-arm signal, raised concerns.
Waymo plans to issue a voluntary software recall with NHTSA next week, as part of its commitment to continuous improvement. The company will continue analyzing its vehicles' performance and making necessary fixes to ensure public safety.
I'm not sure about these self-driving cars getting a free pass just because they're 'sophisticated tech'. If a human driver can't be trusted to stop for a school bus, why should a robot? It's just common sense, right? 
They've got a software problem and now they're making it sound like everything is fine with some fancy stats on safety. I'm not buying it. Why did they refuse to stop ops during school hours until the issue was fixed? That just screams of hubris. Can't put profit over people, no matter how 'innovative' the tech. 
. It's like they're saying, 'Oh, we've got fancy tech, we don't need traffic laws!' 
. And what's with the 'software problem' excuse? Did they not test it on school buses before launching in a city with lots of families?! 
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... i get why they're expanding the investigation, but like 20 incidents is still a big deal 
. waymo seems to be taking it seriously though, they acknowledged the issue and implemented updates ASAP 
. it's concerning that local officials in austin are still worried about road safety despite the fixes 
. hope they can get it right this time 
?! I mean I know they're supposed to be safer than human drivers but passing a school bus with flashing red lights and a stop-arm signal is just crazy! 
That's just irresponsible. I get it, they want to test and improve but safety should always come first! 
. And let's be real, they've had a fivefold reduction in injury-related crashes compared to human drivers... that's some solid stats! So maybe we can't expect perfection just yet, but it's great that they're taking steps to get there 
20 times in one school year?! That's crazy! And what if it was an accident? What would happen then? 
It's not like Waymo was trying to be malicious or anything... but still, how did this happen? 
like, why did Waymo's vehicles keep passing those stopped school buses? Was it laziness or was it something deeper? Are we so caught up in the thrill of technology that we forget about human life at the crossroads? 
I mean, what's the value of safety if it just means following rules without really thinking about the consequences...
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. We can't afford any more close calls like these 
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I don't think it's okay for them to just keep going, even if they say they've fixed the software issue 
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, but I think we should be more careful when introducing new tech like this 
. We can't just rush into things without thinking about the consequences 
this whole thing is super concerning for me personally... like i get the excitement around self-driving cars but have we really thought through the scenario where a bus just stops on the road with flashing lights? 
i was shocked to hear that a waymo vehicle drove around a school bus in atlanta, that's just crazy talk 
anyway i'm rooting for waymo to fix this issue and make public safety their top priority 
, but what about the other 19 incidents that happened before that update? Are you kidding me?! 
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