Ford CEO says U.S. needs to regulate automated driving
DETROIT — The CEO of America's second-largest auto company is calling for the federal government to set standards for fully or partially automated vehicles to tighten the safety of electronic driving systems.
In urging federal regulation, Ford CEO Jim Farley becomes the highest-profile auto executive to publicly recognize a need to more closely monitor the emerging technology, which is becoming more prevalent on America's roadways just as questions are being raised about the potential risks to motorists. In limited areas, companies are beginning to deploy fully autonomous ride-hailing services.
Farley's statements, in an interview with The Associated Press, follow increased scrutiny by regulators of Tesla's partially automated “Autopilot” driver-assist system, which has been involved in a series of high-profile crashes. Tesla also is using selected owners to test its “Full Self-Driving” software on public roads.
“Absolutely,” Farley said when asked whether federal regulations are needed. “Today, the regulations are state-by-state,” he said of fully autonomous vehicles. “They're really oriented toward the development of the technology, not large-scale deployment of the technology.”
He suggested that legislators and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were moving too slowly.
“Time is of the essence,” Farley said, explaining that Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle company in which Ford is a major investor, is moving ahead quickly with technology that will let Ford start an autonomous ride-hailing service.
Argo, which is testing autonomous vehicles with human backup drivers in six U.S. cities, expects to be ready for Ford to offer ride-hailing without human drivers sometime next year. In the Phoenix area, Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo is already offering a limited fully autonomous ride service.
And Ford will soon offer “Blue Cruise,” its own partially automated driving system that, like Tesla's Autopilot, keeps cars centered in their lane and a safe distance behind traffic in front of them. With Blue Cruise, drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel. But unlike Autopilot, they will be monitored by a camera to make sure they are paying attention.
“We've done the testing to feel comfortable with this system and how it's implemented,” Farley said.
The CEO took an implicit jab at Tesla, saying that Ford does its own testing before rolling out the technology.
Drivers often have thwarted Tesla's efforts to monitor them by detecting hands on the steering wheel. Earlier this month, a man was arrested in California after an officer spotted his Tesla on a freeway with the man riding in the back seat and no one behind the wheel. The man told the AP that his car was fully autonomous and designed so that he could ride in the back seat.
That's not true. Tesla has explicitly told California regulators that both “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” are assist systems and that drivers must be ready to intervene.
