AUSTIN (KXAN) — When a Waymo autonomous vehicle in Austin contacted a remote assistance agent in Michigan — a human — to ask if the school bus in the next lane over was signaling for drivers to stop, the agent wrongly replied “no,” according to a newly-released report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Waymo system went on to illegally pass an Austin Independent School District bus for the 24th time that school year. Video from the Jan. 12 incident shows the bus was displaying red strobing lights at the time and had two stop signs sticking out.
The preliminary report is the first insight into the federal government’s investigation into automated driving systems passing school buses that are loading and unloading students…