Regulator Investigates Ford’s Hands-Free Driving System After Fatal Crashes
NHTSA says incidents involved BlueCruise system on Ford Mach-E vehicles
U.S. auto-safety regulators have launched an investigation into the safety of Ford Motor’s F -1.21%decrease; red down pointing triangle hands-free driving system, following a pair of recent crashes that left three people dead.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the auto industry’s top regulator, said in a filing made public Monday that it had received notice of two recent incidents involving BlueCruise, Ford’s driver-assistance system.
In both cases, Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs collided with stationary vehicles on highways during nighttime lighting conditions, each resulting in a fatality, NHTSA said.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation confirmed that BlueCruise was engaged in each of the vehicles in question immediately before the collisions, according to an initial review by the agency.
NHTSA said the probe will investigate BlueCruise’s “performance of the dynamic driving task and driver monitoring.” The investigation covers about 130,000 Mustang Mach E vehicles from model years 2021 to 2024.
The agency’s action is the latest effort by U.S. auto-safety regulators to tackle concerns over technology designed to automate certain driving tasks to ease the burden on motorists. More automakers in recent years have introduced such systems, which control braking, acceleration and steering on the highway and in other specific driving conditions.
The investigation into Ford’s system comes as NHTSA has escalated its scrutiny of Tesla’s Autopilot, the most well-known driver-assist system. The agency’s heightened oversight raises questions about whether eye-tracking cameras installed in systems such as BlueCruise to monitor driver behavior are sufficient to keep focus on the road.
A Ford spokeswoman said the company is working with NHTSA to support its investigation. Ford’s BlueCruise is intended for hands-free use on most U.S. highways and is available on several models.
The Ford system was already under scrutiny by NHTSA, which in recent weeks launched special crash investigations into both fatal incidents. While those look at single crashes to learn about unusual events or new technology, a defect probe by the regulator’s enforcement arm could lead to a safety recall and changes to the BlueCruise system.
The earlier special crash investigation, opened by NHTSA in March, centers on a fatal wreck involving a Ford sport-utility vehicle in Texas in February. A police report said the Ford had partial automation engaged at the time of the crash.
The second crash involving the Mustang Mach-E occurred in Pennsylvania last month.
State and federal regulators have been paying more attention to driver-assistance systems as they become more widespread in new vehicles today. Several automakers including Tesla and Ford received poor grades in a study that reviewed driver-assistance systems, finding little evidence the technology provides safety benefits to motorists.
Tesla in particular has received significant scrutiny from NHTSA. Last week, the agency said it was investigating the adequacy of a December recall that Tesla conducted to fix its Autopilot software, following an investigation by the regulator.
NHTSA said it had uncovered a trend of “avoidable crashes involving hazards that would have been visible to an attentive driver,” and tied the automaker’s system to hundreds of incidents and 14 fatalities.
Tesla has been racing to boost adoption of a more advanced driver-assistance system it calls Full Self-Driving, as it faces the prospect of slower growth this year in sales of its electric cars. Over the weekend, Tesla secured backing from China’s government to launch Full Self-Driving in the country.
Despite its name, Full Self-Driving doesn’t make a car fully autonomous and requires active driver supervision, Tesla says on its website and in owners’ manuals.
Ford introduced BlueCruise a few years ago and says it operates on 97% of controlled-access highways across the U.S. and Canada.
The system deploys features such as adaptive cruise control, automatic lane change and a driver-monitoring system to allow for hands-free driving. A driver-facing camera is supposed to alert drivers if they stop paying attention to the road, even if for only a few seconds, according to Ford’s website.