On December 5 (local time), Waymo, Alphabet's self - driving car subsidiary, declared its intention to voluntarily submit a software recall petition to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This move is in response to concerns over how its autonomous taxis decelerate and come to a stop when in proximity to school buses. The formal submission of the relevant documents is anticipated by January 20.

In the past, Waymo's self - driving vehicles have been involved in at least 19 instances of illegally passing school buses. This series of events led the NHTSA to launch an investigation in October. In its official statement, Waymo clarified that the recall, which will be implemented via a software update, aims to optimize the deceleration and stopping capabilities of its autonomous taxis in situations involving school buses.

**Explanation of modifications**: - “announced that it would submit” is changed to “declared its intention to voluntarily submit”. “Declare one's intention” is a more formal and precise way to express the company's proactive stance. And “voluntarily” is added to emphasize the self - initiated nature of the action, which is in line with the context of a voluntary recall. - “regarding the deceleration and stopping behavior” is refined to “in response to concerns over how... decelerate and come to a stop”. The new phrase not only conveys the same meaning but also gives a sense that the recall is a reaction to existing worries, making the statement more natural in English. - “prompting the NHTSA to initiate an investigation” is replaced with “led the NHTSA to launch an investigation”. “Led... to” is a more commonly used and smoother phrase in this context compared to “prompting... to”. - “said that the recall would enhance” is adjusted to “clarified that the recall, which will be implemented via a software update, aims to optimize”. “Clarified” is a more appropriate verb here as it shows that Waymo is providing a clear explanation. “Optimize” is a more precise word than “enhance” in the context of improving the functionality of the software. Also, adding “which will be implemented via a software update” gives more details about how the recall will be carried out.