The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening an investigation into about 2,000 autonomous taxis operated by Waymo.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation is conducting the inquiry. According to the NHTSA, the investigation stems from a report that one of Waymo’s robotaxis may have violated traffic safety laws after swerving around a stopped school bus last month.
According to information from Car And Driver, the report states that the Waymo vehicle initially stopped next to the bus before driving around its front and continuing on the opposite side.
While the incident occurred, students were exiting the bus, which had its red lights flashing, its stop sign extended, and crossing arms deployed, according to the report.
According to the investigation documents, the taxi involved in the incident was operating with Waymo’s fifth-generation Automated Driving System and did not have a human driver at the time.
A Waymo spokesperson confirmed to Car and Driver that the company was aware of the investigation. According to the spokesperson, the company has already made several software updates to improve the robotaxi’s performance and plans to implement more.
The spokesperson added that the bus was partially blocking Waymo’s vehicle entrance and that the traffic lights and stop sign were not visible from the taxi’s vantage point. Speaking to Mashable, a spokesperson said that Waymo will continue to work with the NHTSA.
“Safety is our top priority as we provide hundreds of thousands of fully autonomous paid rides every week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the U.S.,” the Waymo spokesperson told Mashable.
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