Federal regulators have launched an investigation into Waymo after its self-driving cars were cited for multiple violations around school buses in Texas and Georgia. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining whether the company's autonomous driving system can reliably follow traffic laws near stopped school buses, reports Quartz. The probe reportedly began in October after a Waymo vehicle in Atlanta failed to remain stopped for a school bus.
In Texas, the Austin Independent School District has confirmed 19 traffic citations for Waymo vehicles operating around school buses this school year, five of which occurred after Waymo assured officials it had issued a software update to address the problem. The school district—which noted one incident involved a Waymo vehicle crossing in front of a student in the roadway, per NPR—asked the company to halt operations during school pickup and drop-off times until a more robust fix is in place. "We cannot allow Waymo to continue endangering our students," the district said, per Quartz. But Waymo refused, saying it would keep refining its system as needed.
It now says it will file a voluntary software recall with the administration, having identified an issue that contributed to the incidents, per NPR. NHTSA had asked Waymo for detailed incident reports and clarification on how its software handles stopped school buses, including whether its procedures differ by location, warning that autonomous vehicles displaying unexpected behavior around school buses could raise the risk of crashes and injuries. Waymo faces fines of nearly $28,000 per incident per day if it doesn't respond fully to NHTSA's requests by Jan. 20.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
