Austin ISD Video Shows Waymo Passing Stopped School Buses

Austin school officials on Wednesday went public with bus camera footage they say shows Waymo self-driving cars blowing past stopped school buses 19 times this fall. The clips, taken from school-bus stop-arm cameras between the first day of classes on Aug. 19 and Nov. 14, were enough for district leaders to demand immediate fixes and a temporary pause during student pickup and drop-off hours.

What the video shows

The district’s stop-arm program flagged 19 incidents and mailed notices to Waymo as the registered vehicle owner, according to FOX 7 Austin. In multiple clips, Waymo vehicles appear to slow or stop, then roll past buses while red lights are flashing and the stop-arm is still extended, the footage shows.

District pressed Waymo and kept counting violations

Officials say they first contacted Waymo in late October after stop-arm cameras captured a dozen violations and asked the company to pay $2,100 in civil fines, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The district then logged seven more incidents between Nov. 5 and Nov. 20 and, on Nov. 20, asked Waymo to halt operations during morning and afternoon school-bus windows while the company puts fixes in place.

Federal scrutiny adds context

The local showdown is playing out alongside a broader federal review. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary investigation after a separate video out of Atlanta showed a Waymo robotaxi maneuvering around a stopped school bus, Reuters reported. Federal regulators say they will examine how autonomous systems behave around stopped buses and whether similar episodes have cropped up elsewhere.

Legal and enforcement questions

AISD buses carry stop-arm cameras that automatically capture suspected violations and trigger notices to the registered vehicle owner, the district explains on its transportation FAQ page. Under Texas law, drivers must stop when a school bus is using its red flashing lights and extended stop-arm, and the statute spells out the offense and civil penalty structure. The district also uses an automated vendor program that documents these stop-arm events and issues $300 civil fines, a tool officials say they are leaning on to hold vehicle owners accountable.

What Waymo says and what’s next

Waymo told local outlets it traced the problem to a software issue that, in some situations, let its vehicles slow or stop and then continue forward, and that it "swiftly implemented software updates" across its fleet in mid-November, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The company said its vehicles proceeded cautiously when no individuals were in the path of the vehicle and pledged to keep monitoring and updating its systems. For now, parents and school staff will be watching closely to see whether those fixes hold as the district weighs its next steps.