Waymo’s driverless vehicles have become a focal point of national discussion, but nowhere is the debate more urgent than in Texas. As Waymo prepares to expand operations into Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, recent incidents involving Austin school buses and now a child being hit near a school in California have sparked safety questions, legal scrutiny, and calls for stronger oversight of autonomous vehicles in the state.
In November, surveillance cameras on Austin Independent School District (AISD) school buses captured multiple incidents in which Waymo autonomous vehicles failed to stop properly when buses had their stop arms extended and red lights flashing, conditions under which Texas law requires all motorists to fully stop and remain stopped.
KXAN’s reporting shows:
- Waymo vehicles were cited 19 times this school year for illegally passing stopped AISD buses.
- Some vehicles briefly stopped, then moved around the bus while the lights were still flashing.
- In at least six recorded incidents, children were visible near or in the roadway.
In one widely circulated video, a Waymo halted momentarily while a student crossed, only to accelerate again before the student was safely out of the roadway. In another, the automated vehicle maneuvered alongside the bus before passing a second stop arm, which is an outright violation under Texas law.
AISD’s legal counsel wrote to Waymo in October and again in November, demanding immediate corrective action and proposing temporary restrictions on Waymo’s hours of operation during student pick-up and drop-off times.
Waymo’s Response and Ongoing Safety Concerns
Waymo has acknowledged “performance issues” around school buses and says it has implemented software updates across its fleet. According to the company, those updates were fully deployed by November 17.
Still, violations continued afterward, and AISD leaders have stated that the situation has “escalated,” prompting considerations of legal remedies to ensure student safety.
Austin Police officials have also reported challenges. Officers say Waymo vehicles have at times:
- Struggled to recognize officer hand signals
- Maneuvered around officers directing traffic
- Continued through intersections based solely on traffic lights despite the officer's direction
Waymo says it is continually retraining its systems using advanced machine learning models and remains committed to improving pedestrian and officer recognition in complex environments.
NHTSA Investigations into Autonomous Vehicle Safety
Waymo’s issues are not limited to Texas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a federal investigation after a Waymo in metro Atlanta passed a stopped school bus with its stop arm deployed. Those findings prompted the broader review that now includes Texas incidents.
This investigation mirrors other federal inquiries into autonomous vehicle (AV) safety. Notably, NHTSA’s ongoing investigations into Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems, which have faced scrutiny for pedestrian crashes, visibility issues, and sensor limitations. Unlike Tesla, Waymo operates fully driverless vehicles without a human backup, meaning any failure to interpret roadway cues, especially around children, raises immediate public safety concerns.
How Does Texas Regulate Autonomous Vehicles
Texas has long been a hub for autonomous vehicle innovation, but until recently, the state operated under one of the most permissive AV legal frameworks in the country. From 2017 to 2025, companies like Waymo, Tesla, and GM Cruise were allowed to deploy driverless vehicles on public roads without a state permit, without disclosing operational plans, and without providing law enforcement with standardized procedures for interacting with the vehicles.
As we previously reported, Texas lawmakers had already begun examining the state’s AV rules in September 2024 to address growing safety concerns. Those early discussions laid the groundwork for what would become a significant update to Texas AV laws in nearly a decade.
On September 1, 2025, Senate Bill 2807 officially took effect. The new law creates Texas’s first comprehensive authorization and oversight process for autonomous vehicles, which directly addresses many of the gaps exposed by the recent Waymo school bus incidents.
For nearly a decade, Texas allowed autonomous vehicles to operate under broad statewide rules set by Texas Bill 2205. Under the old framework, AVs were permitted as long as they:
- Followed all traffic laws
- Had onboard data recorders
- Met federal motor vehicle safety standards
- Carried liability insurance
- Identified the automated driving system (not a passenger) as the “operator” of the vehicle
This largely self-regulated environment helped AV companies flock to Texas, but it also left the state without tools to intervene when safety problems emerged, such as the repeated failure of Waymo vehicles to stop for school buses.
SB 2807 represents Texas’s effort to balance innovation with clearer lines of accountability. The state now has a formal process for authorizing AV operations, reviewing safety plans, and establishing clearer expectations for how autonomous vehicles should interact with school buses, police officers, and everyday road users. The law also gives state agencies a defined path to intervene if a fleet repeatedly violates Texas traffic laws or demonstrates unsafe behavior on public roads.
For companies like Waymo, Tesla, and others testing or launching driverless services in Texas, this shift means greater accountability, and for the public, it means additional transparency about how these vehicles operate and how safety concerns are addressed.
Hurt in an Accident With a Waymo or Other AV?
Waymo’s school bus violations underscore the challenges of integrating autonomous vehicles into real-world environments, especially those involving children, pedestrians, and unpredictable traffic conditions. These incidents also highlight why strong statewide oversight is essential as Texas continues to adopt new transportation technologies.
When a crash involves a driverless vehicle, the legal issues can become far more complicated than a typical Texas car accident case. Questions about software failures, operator responsibility, regulatory compliance, and liability all come into play.
The Cochran Firm Texas has decades of experience representing crash victims and helping families navigate these emerging issues, including accidents involving autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assist systems.
If you have questions about an accident involving a driverless vehicle, contact The Cochran Firm Texas for a free consultation. You can also call us directly at 1-866-892-6148 or use our Live Chat to learn more about your rights and available legal options.
