Waymo investigation could stop autonomous driving in its tracks | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

After consistently declining for 30 years, roadway fatalities in the U.S. have risen over the past decade.

Fatalities jumped to nearly 35,000 in 2015, an 8% increase from the year prior, and rose another 6.5% the following year, according to U.S. Transportation Department data. Fatalities peaked in 2021 at 43,230, representing a 10.8% year-over-year increase from the previous year.

Waymo quick facts:

Founded in 2009.
Passed the first U.S. state self-driving test in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2012, according to IEEE Spectrum.
Spun out from Alphabet as a separate subsidiary in 2016.
As of July 2025, Waymo One is available 24/7 to customers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The current Waymo fleet features over 1,500 vehicles. By 2026, the company expects to add 2,000 more.

For more than a decade, futurists have looked to autonomous vehicles as a solution to the growing issue, but there are varying levels of automation.

The Society of Automotive Engineers considers advanced driver assistance systems, such as GM Super Cruise and Tesla Full Self-Driving, to be Level 2 automation, which requires full driver engagement.

Anything Level 3 and above is considered truly “autonomous.” This means that no human intervention is required when the system activates features such as lane assist and automatic braking. However, the system must be enabled by a present driver who must take over when asked to. J.D. Power lists Mercedes’ Drive Pilot as a Level 3 system.

Robotaxi providers including Waymo, Tesla Robotaxi, and Zoox are considered Level 4, as their vehicles are equipped with steering wheels, brakes, and gas pedals, but can safely navigate the road without driver input and don’t require the driver to be alert and ready.

However, new video raises questions about the safety of these autonomous systems.

Waymo vehicles have sparked concerns regarding their safety around school buses.

Photo by Justin Sullivan on Getty Images

Austin, Texas, ISD has had enough of Waymo

Autonomous vehicles are supposed to make roads safer, but a recent video out of Austin, Texas, shows one Level 4 autonomous company making the roads anything but.

Weeks ago, the Austin Independent School District noticed a disturbing trend: Waymo vehicles were not stopping for school buses that had their crossing guard and stop sign deployed.

The Austin ISD has been in communication with Waymo regarding the violations, which it reports have occurred approximately 1.5 times per week during this school year. Waymo has informed them that software updates have been issued to address the issue.

However, in a letter dated November 20, 2025, the group states that there have been multiple violations since the supposed fix.

Since the start of the school year, Austin school officials have recorded 19 instances of Waymos blowing through school bus stop signs.

This week, Austin ISD released the videos.

Waymo robotaxis fail to stop for schoolchildren in Austin

Austin ISD requested that Waymo halt operations between 5:20 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. until it actually fixed the issue, as stated in the November letter.

On Dec. 1, after Waymo received its 20th citation from Austin ISD for the current school year, Austin ISD decided to release the video of the previous infractions to the public.

The video shows all 19 instances of Waymo violating school bus safety rules. Perhaps most alarmingly, the violations appear to worsen over time.

On November 12, a Waymo vehicle was recorded violating a law by making a left turn onto a street with a school bus, its stop signs and crossbar already deployed. There are children in the crosswalk when the Waymo makes the turn and cuts in front of them. The car stops for a second then continues without letting the kids pass.

Waymo provided a statement to CBS Austin.

Federal authorities already investigating Waymo over failure to stop for school buses

Waymo isn’t the only autonomous driving company struggling with school buses.

Earlier this year, Tesla Robotaxi took some heat after a video surfaced of an autonomous Tesla ignoring a school bus stop sign, speeding past the vehicle, and hitting a child dummy in a simulated test.

The issue is definitely on the authorities’ radars, as the NHTSA opened a Preliminary Evaluation to investigate an estimated 2,000 Waymo 5th-gen automated driving system-equipped vehicles in October, following a Georgia media report showing the same school bus violation.

This week, it opened another investigation following the Austin ISD’s actions.

“ODI is concerned that ADS-equipped vehicles exhibiting such unexpected driving behaviors or not complying with traffic safety laws concerning school buses may increase the risk of crash, injury, and property damage,” NHTSA officials said.