• The NHTSA is investigating Ford's BlueCruise semi-autonomous driving system.
When it comes to autonomous driving systems, safety is paramount to their eventual success. If they aren't reliable, the public won't want them.
Ford's BlueCruise semi-autonomous-drive feature has drawn the attention of the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the U.S. equivalent of Transport Canada, as reported by Automotive News.
The reason for the interest? According to reports, two Mustang Mach-Es equipped with the technology collided with stopped vehicles while the system was activated.
Both incidents occurred at night, and at least one fatality was reported, according to the NHTSA.
As a result, the NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation investigation to assess the capabilities of the BlueCruise system in terms of both driving and driver monitoring. These systems must deactivate when they detect that the driver is no longer alert or focused on the road.
In March, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), an independent federal agency tasked with investigating transportation accidents, also launched an investigation into the BlueCruise system following the fatal accident involving a Mustang Mach-E in Texas.
At the time, a Ford spokesman told Reuters that the company had “reported this incident to NHTSA as soon as we became aware of it.” and was seeking all possible information to shed light on the matter. "Safety is a top priority for all of us at Ford, and we will cooperate fully with any resulting investigation."
The investigation affects Mustang Mach-E models from the 2021-2024 model-years.
We emphasize that this is not a recall at this time. Should the NHTSA investigation conclude that a safety issue exists, a recall may be required.
