NHTSA Opens Recall Probe Into 2,895 Waymo Vehicles Over School Bus Violations

The significance lies less in the vehicle count than in the regulatory mechanism: a recall probe into software behavior, not hardware, tests whether NHTSA can force fixes on autonomous fleets the way it does with physical defects. It affects Waymo's operating posture in the U.S. and, by extension, how other robotaxi operators model compliance risk around school-bus interactions. The open question is whether the agency accepts that the late-year software fix addressed the behavior or finds it insufficient, which would set a precedent for how post-deployment software remedies are judged.