Waymo is issuing another software recall in 2025 to prevent its robotaxi fleet from passing by discontinued school buses. While this isn’t a traditional recall that pulls vehicles off the road, Waymo is voluntarily updating the software for its autonomous fleet in response to an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to Waymo, the recall will be filed with the federal agency early next week.
Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña said in a statement that Waymo has far fewer accidents involving pedestrians than human drivers, but the company knows “when our behavior needs to be better.”
“As a result, we have decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to appropriately slowing and stopping in these scenarios,” Pena said in a statement to multiple news outlets. “We will continue to analyze the performance of our vehicles and make necessary improvements as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.”
According to the NHTSA investigation, some Waymo autonomous vehicles were observed failing to stop for school buses that had stop signs and flashing lights posted. There have been cases of Waymo cars passing stopped school buses in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, the federal agency reported.
Earlier this year, Waymo issued another software recall after some of its robotaxi fleet were observed hitting gates, chains and similar objects. Last year, Waymo also filed two other software recalls, one over a fleet vehicle hitting a telephone pole and the other over how two different robotaxis hit the same pickup truck that was being towed.
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