The National Transportation Safety Board is scrutinizing Waymo after initiating a formal inquiry into incidents where the company's self-driving cars bypassed school buses that were halted for picking up or dropping off children in Austin, Texas. In a post on the social media platform X, the NTSB announced its intent to analyze encounters between Waymo's autonomous vehicles and these stationary school buses.
This newest examination by federal authorities originates from an initial assessment conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reviewed Waymo's responses to paused school buses within the Texas locale. The findings prompted Waymo to issue a voluntary update to its software in December, yet a communication from the local school district indicated that the autonomous vehicles continued the problematic behavior shortly following the patch.
Regarding the ongoing NTSB review, a representative from the organization informed the Austin American-Statesman that team members would head to the city to collect details about multiple occurrences in which the self-driving cars did not yield to buses engaged in student transport activities. An NTSB official noted that an initial summary is expected in under a month, while the comprehensive analysis could require from one to two years to complete.
Waymo's top safety executive, Mauricio Peña, addressed the matter in comments shared with various media sources, stating that none of the highlighted situations resulted in accidents and expressing assurance that the firm's handling of school bus scenarios outperforms that of human operators. He further described the probe as a chance to share clear details with the NTSB about Waymo's commitment to prioritizing safety.