A School District Tried to Help Train Waymos to Stop for School Buses. It Didn’t Work

School District Fails to Train Waymo's Self-Driving Cars to Stop for School Buses

A critical flaw in Waymo's self-driving car technology has put school children in Austin, Texas at risk. The issue lies in the vehicles' inability to stop for school buses with flashing red lights and extended stop arms. Despite months of attempts to rectify the problem, Waymo's cars continued to pass the buses, putting students in harm's way.

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) reported at least 19 instances of Waymo's vehicles passing school buses, which is a serious safety concern. In response, Waymo issued a federal recall in early December, acknowledging 12 incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, the recall did not resolve the issue, and the school district continued to experience problems.

To address the issue, the school district hosted a "data collection" event in a school parking lot, where employees pulled together school buses and stop-arm signals to help Waymo collect information. Despite this effort, the school district reported at least four more school-bus-passing incidents in mid-January.

The situation raises questions about the limitations of self-driving car technology and the industry's ability to address these flaws. Experts say that self-driving software has long struggled with recognizing flashing emergency lights and road safety devices.

The incident highlights the need for more robust testing and evaluation of self-driving car technology before it is deployed on public roads.