By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday criticized Ford Motor’s hands-free advanced driver assistance system BlueCruise for failing to ensure drivers were not distracted before they were involved in two fatal collisions in the U.S.
The agency at a three-hour hearing also faulted the lack of government regulations on driver assistance systems and raised questions about claims made by automakers.
The agency said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should issue comprehensive guidelines to address known system limitations of driver assistance systems.
Ford’s driver monitoring system does not effectively address distraction and disengagement issues, NTSB said. It also said Ford allowed drivers to use the system at excessive speeds and drivers can disengage Ford’s automatic emergency braking system while using the system.
Both crashes in 2024 involved 2022-model-year Ford Mustang Mach-Es operating in the company’s partial automation mode. The Ford SUVs struck stationary vehicles at highway speeds in San Antonio and Philadelphia, killing three people in total, and there was no attempt to brake by either Ford driver.
Ford, in a statement, noted the Mach-E driver was impaired by alcohol in one of the two crashes and said it will take the NTSB’s recommendations “under serious consideration as we continue to evolve our driver-assist technologies and encourage responsible road behavior.”
NHTSA noted it has three investigations pending into BlueCruise and will review the NTSB’s recommendations.
“Manufacturers and federal regulators must ensure these technologies are designed, monitored and implemented in ways that keep all our road users safe,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. “We cannot take a ‘hands off’ approach to hands-free driving technology. Lives depend on it.”
Homendy said the investigation found that even with Ford’s updated version of BlueCruise in use, the fatal crashes would still have occurred.
NTSB board members have repeatedly questioned whether adequate safeguards were included in driver assistance systems that carry out some tasks but require drivers to be attentive and ready to take over for other tasks.
Since 2025, both the NTSB and NHTSA have been investigating the use of BlueCruise to address questions about system limitations and to evaluate drivers’ ability to respond. Ford says BlueCruise is an advanced hands-free driving system that operates on 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways with no intersections or traffic signals. It deployed the technology in 2021.
The NTSB has opened several investigations in recent years into advanced driver assistance systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot. In December 2023, electric-car maker Tesla agreed to recall 2 million vehicles to install new safeguards for its Autopilot driver assistance system.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Aurora Ellis and David Gregorio)
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