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Ford BlueCruise driver assist under federal scrutiny following 2 deaths

NHTSA has opened an investigation after two separate fatal crashes at night.

Jonathan M. Gitlin – | 232
the cockpit of a ford mustang mach-e being operated in BlueCruise
BlueCruise allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel but not their eyes off the road. Credit: Ford
BlueCruise allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel but not their eyes off the road. Credit: Ford

The federal regulator responsible for road safety has opened yet another probe into the safety of a hands-free driver assistance system, we learned this morning. And no, it's not a system from Tesla. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation has opened a preliminary investigation into Ford's BlueCruise system, following a pair of fatal crashes, both of which occurred at night.

Ford introduced BlueCruise in 2021. Like the similar General Motors Super Cruise, but unlike Tesla Autopilot, BlueCruise has been designed with a tightly controlled operational design domain (ODD) that only allows it to be engaged on restricted access, divided lane highways that have been lidar-mapped in advance.

Additionally, like Super Cruise but unlike Tesla's far more dangerous system, there is an infrared gaze-tracking driver monitoring camera that will disengage the system if it determines the driver is not paying attention to the road.

Ars Video

 

So unlike Autopilot, drivers using BlueCruise can take their hands off the wheel, but they are still expected to keep paying attention to the road ahead and be ready to take control at a moment's notice if necessary.

(That makes these so-called Level 2 assists; Mercedes-Benz has a more advanced Level 3 assist that can allow drivers to stop paying attention, but it will only operate in congested traffic jams and up to 40 mph, and then only in California or Nevada.)

Despite the safeguards of a tightly geofenced, driver-monitored ODD, BlueCruise is not foolproof. In March, the National Transportation Safety Board—which investigates crashes but, unlike NHTSA, has no regulatory authority to compel an automaker to do anything—opened an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Ford Mustang Mach-E in San Antonio, Texas, on February 24.

Now, NHTSA says it is aware of a second fatal BlueCruise crash, which, like the San Antonio incident, also happened at night. It has opened a preliminary investigation to determine if the system is defective.

Ars contacted Ford, which told us that "we are working with NHTSA to support its investigation."

Listing image: Ford

Photo of Jonathan M. Gitlin
Jonathan M. Gitlin Automotive Editor
Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC.
232 Comments
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InsaneScientist
Serious question: what is the point of systems like this? You can take your hands off the steering wheel but must continue looking forward ready to resume control at a moment's notice or the system turns off? What exactly are you going to do with your hands other than put them on the wheel?

It's definitely not really intuitive, but (from experience*) it's a lot of little things that make the trip more pleasant.

You can hand stuff to the kid in the back seat while you're driving (assuming you're flexible enough to do this while still watching the road and the limiting factor before was keeping your hands on the wheel) instead of needing a full stop.
You can adjust the seat ergonomics so that they're more comfortable without needing as much consideration too being able to hold controls for long periods
You can actually pay more attention to the road and have better situational awareness, because you no longer have to focus (appreciably) on keeping the car between the lines and can give all your focus to other drivers
It reduces the low level mental energy drain from driving, so you feel better when you get to your destination and also remain more alert for the drive

The energy and alertness thing was the biggest thing we noticed - we were shocked at how big of a difference it makes. It's the difference between needing a full recovery day when driving to/from the in laws vs just being a bit tired.

*Speaking as a comma.ai owner that has to take 900ish mile road trips (one way) to the in-laws
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