Waymo Under Investigation: What's Happening With Self-Driving Taxis and Regulators

Federal regulators are scrutinizing Waymo's autonomous vehicle operations following safety complaints from emergency responders and concerns about interactions with school buses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into roughly 2,000 Waymo robotaxis, while the National Transportation Safety Board documented incidents of Waymo vehicles improperly passing stopped school buses.

This regulatory attention arrives as Waymo scales up operations significantly. The company now provides over 1 million fully self-driving rides per month across multiple major U.S. cities, and millions more quarterly in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. California's Public Utilities Commission approved expanded territory for Waymo deployment starting November 21, 2025, showing that the company's growth is continuing despite these safety questions.

How Federal Oversight Works

NHTSA tracks autonomous vehicle incidents through a special monitoring system that covers both driver-assistance systems (like adaptive cruise control) and fully autonomous systems. The agency maintains records on Waymo dating back to January 2019, covering everything from safety standards to vehicle exemptions and purpose-built designs.

This oversight framework is part of NHTSA's broader strategy for monitoring self-driving cars as they move from limited trials into everyday commercial use.

City and Emergency Response Concerns

San Francisco raised safety concerns with California's Public Utilities Commission about Waymo's expansion. The city presented evidence suggesting that self-driving vehicles can interfere with emergency responders trying to manage traffic and respond to incidents. The CPUC documentation details these operational challenges.

Despite these complaints, Waymo has established a First Responder Program and says it has received independent safety verification. The company provides emergency response guides and protocols tailored for first responders in California, and maintains a team trained in post-collision coordination and emergency situations.

What the Safety Numbers Show

According to Waymo's published safety research, the company has had 34 airbag-deployment crashes over 71.1 million miles of autonomous driving. The company compares its crash rates against human drivers in the same cities — Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin — using state police records and official mileage data. By Waymo's analysis, its vehicles cause fewer injury-causing crashes per mile driven compared to human drivers in those areas.

Waymo's safety approach is documented in what it calls a Safety Framework, which describes its daily procedures and is tested through both internal reviews and outside research studies.

Congress, Industry, and Labor

Federal lawmakers have stepped up discussions about autonomous vehicle policy. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has held hearings with Waymo executives, and Congress examined autonomous vehicle regulations in a July 2023 House hearing. Previous congressional sessions dating to 2017 have debated various proposed laws covering self-driving vehicles.

Industry groups like the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance have weighed in on autonomous vehicles, with particular attention to how commercial driving rules should apply. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has raised concerns about job security and workplace safety as autonomous vehicles become more common.

Managing Risk at Scale

Waymo has built an internal team focused on preparing for and responding to incidents — testing readiness scenarios, planning for operational disruptions, and managing safety across its growing fleet in different cities.

The pattern of intensive regulatory oversight during a technology's transition to commercial scale is familiar from earlier eras. We saw similar government scrutiny when the commercial internet moved beyond small pilot projects into mainstream use. Federal agencies then faced the same challenge they face now: how to let new technology develop and benefit society while also protecting public safety.

The outcomes of the current federal investigation, combined with how Waymo addresses local safety concerns, will likely shape regulatory rules not just for Waymo but for the entire autonomous vehicle industry. How well the company manages interactions with emergency responders and handles school bus safety issues may determine whether it can expand further, and what rules will apply to other self-driving vehicle companies across the country.

The bigger question facing regulators is whether today's safety frameworks are sufficient as self-driving vehicles become a routine part of how people and goods move around cities. The answer will affect the entire autonomous vehicle sector as it matures beyond its current early stage.