This isn’t the first federal investigation for the Alphabet-owned company, which was forced to issue two recalls earlier this year due to safety concerns over the cars’ “unexpected behavior.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it has opened an investigation into Waymo’s autonomous taxis and their behavior around school buses, report David Shepardson and Akash Sriram for Reuters.
The investigation stems from an incident in Georgia in which a Waymo robotaxi did not stop behind a school bus that had its lights flashing and stop sign extended. “The report said the Waymo vehicle initially stopped beside the bus then maneuvered around its front, passing the extended stop arm and crossing control arm while students were disembarking.”
The NHTSA said “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.” Waymo says it has already developed improvements that will be deployed in its next software update.
FULL STORY: US probes Alphabet unit Waymo robotaxis over school bus safety
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