AUSTIN, Texas — Federal regulators are investigating another instance of a driverless car passing a stopped Austin ISD school bus. On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it launched an investigation into an incident that occurred on March 25. The agency said that it was contacted by Austin ISD, who reported that a Waymo vehicle had passed a bus that was stopped to load and unload students. It is currently unclear where the incident happened. In Texas, all cars must stop until the lights stop flashing and the arm is retracted, even if the car is on the other side of the road, if there is not a physical lane divider. In December, KVUE first reported that several cars in the company's fleet were shown on camera illegally passing Austin ISD school buses. In each scenario, the buses were stopped with their red lights flashing and stop arms extended. The NTSB launched a safety investigation into Waymo in January, following reports that the company's autonomous vehicles had passed stopped Austin ISD school buses while students are loading and unloading. The NTSB investigation cited an incident that occurred on Jan. 12, when a bus was stopping to pick up students on Oltorf Street near Interstate 35 in South Austin. According to the investigation, the Waymo vehicle initially stopped, but then three other vehicles passed the bus illegally. The vehicle contacted remote assistance, asking, "Is this a school bus with active signals?" A person who was working as a remote assistance agent in another state answered "no." The Waymo then passed the bus despite its stop arms being extended. As of January, Austin ISD confirmed that Waymo vehicles had committed 24 violations, which prompted the district to ask Waymo to cease all operations in the morning and afternoons during
NTSB investigating another incident of Waymo passing Austin ISD school bus | kvue.com
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