FORD CEO SAYS US NEEDS TO REGULATE AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEMS

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, 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.