NHTSA Probes Ford's Blue Cruise After Fatal Crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Ford's hands-free Blue Cruise system following two fatal crashes. The probe comes after more than 2,000 issues with the autonomous driving technology were reported. This move signals heightened regulatory scrutiny on next-generation mobility and driver-assistance solutions.
- The two fatal crashes under investigation both involved Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles striking stationary vehicles on highways at night. In both incidents, the vehicles were traveling at over 70 mph, and the drivers did not apply brakes or take evasive steering action. - The probe was elevated to an Engineering Analysis after investigators found that BlueCruise's Adaptive Cruise Control is designed to ignore stationary objects when the vehicle's speed is above 62 mph, a feature intended to prevent "phantom braking." - Ford's BlueCruise is a Level 2 advanced driver-assistance system, which means the driver must remain alert and ready to take control. It enables hands-free driving on over 130,000 miles of pre-mapped divided highways known as "Blue Zones." - The system uses a driver-facing infrared camera to monitor the driver's eye movement and head position to ensure they are paying attention to the road. - This is not the first time a major automaker's driver-assistance technology has been scrutinized; the NHTSA has multiple ongoing investigations into Tesla's Autopilot system for similar crash scenarios. - Since 2021, Ford has reported 32 crashes to U.S. regulators where its automated driving technology was suspected to be engaged, including three fatalities. - Confidential Ford documents from 2018-2019, before the full rollout of BlueCruise, showed the company was aware that some test drivers did not understand the system's limitations and failed to respond to warnings to retake control of the vehicle. - If the NHTSA's Engineering Analysis confirms a safety defect, Ford could be required to recall all vehicles equipped with the BlueCruise system.
