NHTSA Investigation into Waymo: School Bus Overtaking Issue

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is launching an official investigation into Waymo, a leading self-driving taxi company. This investigation follows the viral spread of video footage in early October showing a Waymo self-driving taxi overtaking a stopped school bus discharging children in Atlanta, Georgia, while the bus's red lights were flashing. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is focusing on the performance of Waymo's autonomous driving software around stopped school buses, how the system is designed to comply with bus-related rules, and other relevant aspects. Based on NHTSA's interactions with Waymo to date, officials indicate that the probability of previous similar incidents is "high".

Waymo's Response to the Incident and Software Updates

According to Waymo, the bus was partially obscuring the lane from which the self-driving taxi was departing. The company claims that the self-driving vehicle was unable to see the flashing lights or the stop sign. Waymo did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether the vehicle saw students disembarking from the bus or its stop-arm.

Waymo confirmed in a statement that "safety is our top priority, as we provide hundreds of thousands of fully autonomous paid rides each week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the United States." The company pointed to data showing that its vehicles are involved in fewer accidents than those driven by humans. Waymo also stated on Monday that it has already released software updates for its fleet to improve performance.

Waymo's Rapid Expansion and Learning Challenges

This year has seen significant expansion for Waymo, as it launched services in Atlanta, introduced self-driving taxis to Austin, expanded across Silicon Valley, and is conducting tests in several other urban areas, including New York City. The company is also testing its services at San Jose and San Francisco airports, and has several other cities planned for 2026. Part of launching in new cities is for the NHTSA's Previous Investigations Record with Waymo

difficulties with road barriers such as gates and chains in low-speed situations. This investigation ultimately led to a Last year, the agency announced an investigation centered on reports that Waymo vehicles had 0) { // التحقق إذا كانت الكلمة "technology" موجودة في أي من التصنيفات for (let item of breadcrumbItems) { if (item.textContent.trim() === "technology") { return "technology"; // إرجاع "technology" إذا تم العثور عليها } } } return null; // لم يتم العثور على التصنيف "technology" } // عند تحميل الصفحة بالكامل window.onload = function() { let category = getCurrentCategory(); // الحصول على التصنيف let resultContainer = document.getElementById("social-links"); // الحصول على العنصر الذي سيعرض الروابط // طباعة التصنيف في وحدة التحكم لمراقبته console.log("التصنيف الملتقط:", category); if (resultContainer) { const socialIcons = { facebook: 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn89VTVes_Hl06UareNohRUBqNIHDH9Lv-F0N-ZZu1nFAbkdLwnHkOTgqj2fYRm2lAFyAOE6CMrDTA9ehdVhIEwQuXGIVissKPk-6DaNj4D8saUBCpmA_djFjqrODNwCNetRUUSYn4IgyJ3QgnyMSqT4TChRDdAVjjG2j7RbgnJRPLgz1T-x6CTDppyC4h/s512/facebook-round-color-icon.png', twitter: 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZvHlD6B9THWwronS3AsOp-G4sPnaeTEllvescomdsgcTQWte_TjmrKUZfZFbHrLym4rpYaOdl60kdePpDBpFruedVGCWTvL6RCNbWMhWMOEzIEud69wYPzNs9X3WFcZ7d6iwh4Y09i1oCMEcH9_CvhRpOlrWgKeTn8wCPhSnvc5vsTRMTbf10Dkfocyo/s512/x-social-media-logo-icon.png', }; const links = category === 'technology' ? { facebook: 'https://www.facebook.com/aymanytechnology', twitter: 'https://x.com/aymany_tech', } : { facebook: 'https://www.facebook.com/aymanyHistory', twitter: 'https://x.com/aymany_history', }; resultContainer.innerHTML = `

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