Waymo Issued A Huge Safety Recall On Its Self-Driving Cars - Here's Why

Popular robotaxi company Waymo has issued a voluntary software recall after its self-driving vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses in Texas, raising safety concerns. According to company officials, Waymo addressed the problem in a November 2025 software update, which Waymo states has improved the system beyond the abilities of human drivers. However, several questions still persist, as Austin school district officials state that at least five instances of the illegal maneuver occurred after Waymo's update reportedly fixed the issue.

The case, although less fiery than the 58 incident reports that prompted a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into Tesla's self-driving technology, highlights key concerns regarding the growth and development of autonomous driving vehicles. While software recalls have become increasingly common in the automotive industry, widespread wariness regarding autonomous vehicles raises the sociocultural stakes for Waymo and its competitors. The recall is particularly worrisome once one considers that much of Waymo's value lies in its safety record, as the company bills itself as a safer alternative to man-driven vehicles.

The recall is the Alphabet's fourth in two years, a reality that highlights both Waymo's commitment to improving its software systems and the pitfalls of developing complex technological systems in real time. It comes as the company looks to expand its presence across the United States, bringing its robotaxi fleet to several new cities including Las Vegas, Detroit, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.

The recall follows an October 2025 announcement that NHTSA had initiated an investigation into incidents of Waymo cars breaking safety laws intended to protect pedestrians around stopped school buses. In particular, the evaluation looked to measure the training and performance of Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS).  The NHTSA followed up the announcement by releasing a November 2025 letter from the Austin Independent School District listing 19 instances where Waymo vehicles "illegally and dangerously" skirted stopped school buses, including an incident where "a Waymo automated vehicle was recorded driving past a stopped school bus only moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the student was still in the road." And although Waymo previously assured the Austin school district that it had issued a software fix, the school district lists at least five subsequent violations. A subsequent letter from NHTSA requests the robotaxi firm to answer several questions for the regulatory body, including documentation of the company's response to similar incidents, by January 20, 2026.

Following the letter, Waymo's Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña released a statement (via ABC News) saying Waymo had "made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to appropriately slowing and stopping in these scenarios." According to Peña, "[the company] will continue analyzing our vehicles' performance and making necessary fixes as part of our commitment to continuous improvement." According to ABC News, the recall will not pull Waymo vehicles off the road. Instead, Waymo will push through software fixes and monitor vehicle performance for further incidents.

Waymo has built much of its public persona around its strong safety record in comparison to human drivers. According to the company, Waymo vehicles experience 80% less injury-causing crashes and 91% less serious injury-causing incidents than their human counterparts. Notably, the company touts its cars as reducing pedestrian-related accidents by 92%, a metric which could be jeopardized if the company continues to experience school-bus-related incidents. In March 2025, an Ars Technica report pored over the company's publicly reported incidents, as federal regulators require automated car manufacturers to report all major accidents to federal authorities. According to Ars Technica's analysis, the vast majority of Waymo's reported accidents were the result of human drivers, supporting Waymo's illustrious safety claims. The company continues to put safety issues at the forefront of its development timeline, expressly developing new means for autonomous vehicles in snow and other challenging environments.

The recall comes as the Alphabet-owned Waymo looks to expand its geographic footprint. Currently operating largely in domestic tech hubs San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix, and Atlanta, Waymo has announced it will add at least twelve locations to its repertoire, including Denver, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. The city is also laying the groundwork for eleven additional U.S. cities, including New York, New Orleans, Boston, and Philadelphia. International expansion is also on the horizon, as Waymo announced in a blog post that it would be bringing its autonomous taxis to London in 2026. The move comes after a successful rollout through the streets of Tokyo in April. This steady expansion has seen Waymo's AVs surpass several key metrics, including collectively compiling over 2 million miles a week and clocking over 100 million miles in July 2025.