Federal regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have announced they’re scrutinizing Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system more closely. In other words, the ongoing investigation into fatal accidents involving the tech is intensifying as investigators are progressing to an “engineering analysis” of what happened.
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In an announcement made recently, NHTSA said its deepening analysis involves about 129,222 vehicles from the 2021 to 2024 model years. The intensifying investigation will focus on not only the limits of BlueCruise but how drivers are able to respond when the hands-free tech doesn’t know what to do.
Just like Tesla’s Auto Pilot and Full Self Driving, controversy has been building around BlueCruise, which is supposed to monitor how attentive the driver is being using cameras. Users can activate it on most highways and stretches of roads without intersections or traffic lights.
Back in March 2024 a woman in Philadelphia used the BlueCruise system in her Ford Mach-E while she was allegedly intoxicated. The all-electric crossover ran into a vehicle that was stopped on the left shoulder of I-95 while one driver was trying to help someone whose car had broken down.
That resulted in a fatal accident and criminal charges for the Ford driver.
A similar case involved a Mach-E with BlueCruise active failing to detect a darkened 1999 Honda CR-V parked in a lane of traffic at night on February 24, 2024. The Ford slammed into that car, killing the driver inside
It’s not clear why in both cases, the BlueCruise system didn’t apply the brakes, avoiding a collision. The issue might have been with the sensors, software, or something else. That’s likely what NHTSA is trying to ascertain through its investigation.
Image via Ford