Preliminary Evaluation PE25-013: Waymo AV drives around a stopped school bus

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified a media report involving a Waymo AV that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed. In the incident, the Waymo AV approached the right side of the stopped school bus from a perpendicular side street. The AV initially stopped, but then drove around the front of the bus by briefly turning right to avoid running into the bus’s right front end, then turning left to pass in front of the bus, and then turning further left and driving down the roadway past the entire left side of the bus. During this maneuver, the Waymo AV passed the bus’s extended crossing control arm near disembarking students (on the bus’s right side) and passed the extended stop arm on the bus’s left side. At the time of the incident, the Waymo AV was operated by Waymo’s 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS). No safety operator was present in the vehicle. Waymo’s ADS surpassed 100 million miles of driving in July of 2025. Operations involving Waymo’s ADS currently accumulate approximately two million miles per week. Based on NHTSA’s engagement with Waymo on this incident and the accumulation of operational miles, the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high. ODI has opened a Preliminary Evaluation to investigate the performance of the Waymo ADS around stopped school buses, how the system is designed to comply with school bus traffic safety laws, and the system’s ability to follow those traffic safety laws. During this investigation, NHTSA will seek to identify the scope of the issue presented by this incident and identify any other similar incidents.