Departing US road safety chief says agency has the people and knowhow to regulate high-tech vehicles

By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — In the past 15 months, no one has been more responsible for safety on the nation’s roads than Ann Carlson. For much of that time she has served as acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where she started as chief counsel in 2021. But she’s leaving the agency on Wednesday to resume teaching at the UCLA School of Law. During her tenure, the agency made autonomous vehicle companies and automakers report crashes involving automated systems, creating a large database. It also made Tesla recall its Autopilot driving system and is considering regulation of automated vehicles. And the agency is trying to get an air bag company to recall 52 million inflators that can explode with too much force.