Monday, June 27, 2016

For NHTSA: Ford Goes Confidential

In a straggler comment to the NHTSA concerning upcoming guidance or regulations regarding driverless vehicles, the Ford Motor Company has spouted text that says absolutely nothing and submitted an attachment of several pages, all of them marked "ENTIRE PAGE BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL."

So much for public comments. 

I realize there is confidential proprietary information that companies are entitled to keep under wraps, however, it would be good PR for Ford to release at least a redacted document.

More troubling is the friendly tete a tete at the NHTSA hearings between the Ford representative and others in the industry and on the NHTSA dais. This is a familiarity that concerned citizens, representatives of people with disabilities, and others can never match. It is not impropriety, but there is the appearance, if not the distinct smell, of it.

I say this even though I admire Ford's forward thinking re-interpretation of itself as a mobility company rather than a mere purveyor of vehicles.

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