Austin school officials say they have seen enough. After weeks of quietly collecting stop-arm camera footage, Austin Independent School District is now publicly calling out Waymo, accusing its driverless cars of repeatedly rolling past school buses with red lights flashing and stop signs extended.
The district says the new videos back up what its cameras have been catching since the start of the school year and is renewing its push for Waymo to pause service during the busiest student pick-up and drop-off hours. The uproar has now drawn federal scrutiny and forced the company to defend how its robotaxis behave around kids and school buses.
District Shares Fresh Clips
The latest batch of footage was released this week, with the district providing clips to local media, according to KVUE. The videos appear to show Waymo vehicles slowing near stopped buses, then continuing past while the stop arm is still out and the red lights are still flashing.
AISD officials say they first noticed a pattern while reviewing stop-arm camera footage, not from driver complaints. Once they realized multiple clips involved the same company’s robotaxis, they decided to go public to highlight what they say is a clear safety risk to students.
What The Videos Show
District records and local coverage detail multiple incidents in which the self-driving cars seem to hesitate, then edge around stopped buses while students are boarding or getting off, behavior officials say puts children at risk, according to FOX 7 Austin. AISD’s stop-arm program flagged roughly 19 such incidents this fall, local outlets report.
In several clips, children are visible near the bus as it loads or unloads. Assistant Chief Travis Pickford told reporters the pattern was uncovered through the automated camera program rather than by bus drivers calling in near-misses.
Federal Scrutiny And Waymo's Response
The situation has now landed on the radar of federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary probe and asked Waymo to detail the incidents and any related software changes, with a January 20 deadline to respond, as Reuters reported.
In correspondence with the company, NHTSA also pressed Waymo on whether it had implemented an appropriate software fix and whether it plans to file a recall tied to that remedy, according to the agency’s letters cited in the same reporting.
Waymo has told local outlets it traced the behavior to a software issue and pushed updates in mid-November that it says have “meaningfully improved performance,” as reported by FOX 7 Austin. The company says it continues to review how its vehicles interact with school buses and will keep updating systems as needed, while emphasizing that safety is its top priority.
AISD Wants A Pause And Penalties
District leaders say that is not enough. Austin ISD officials say they formally asked Waymo to shut down robotaxi operations during the morning and afternoon windows when school buses are busiest, but say the company turned that request down, per local reporting compiled by the site.
In the meantime, AISD is leaning on its stop-arm camera enforcement and an automated vendor program that documents violations and issues civil fines. Officials say they are weighing additional steps to keep students safe while autonomous vehicles continue to operate in neighborhoods where buses make daily runs.
Legal And Safety Stakes
Texas law is straightforward on this point: drivers must stop for school buses that extend a stop arm and flash red lights, and violators can face civil fines and, in more dangerous situations, criminal charges. Federal regulators are now examining whether Waymo’s technology followed those traffic rules and whether a recall is needed, a line of questioning Reuters reports NHTSA has directed the company to address by January 20.
The outcome of that review could determine whether Waymo faces additional enforcement or is forced into broader corrective action for its fleet.
For now, AISD officials say they plan to keep releasing footage, pressing regulators, and publicly pushing Waymo for changes they believe will make routes safer for students and their families. Parents and neighborhood leaders in Austin say they will be closely tracking NHTSA’s timeline and any follow-up reporting as the district continues to monitor how robotaxis behave around its buses.
