The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an official investigation into Ford's BlueCruise advanced driver-assistance software after it was linked to fatalities while in use, The Verge reported April 29. The investigation includes two incidents from 2024 that the National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating, one in San Antonio and another in Philadelphia.
The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation noted that the Ford vehicles involved in the fatal crashes hit stationary objects including vehicles stopped in a driving lane on the highway. BlueCruise enables hands-free driving on premapped highway roads and uses cameras to monitor drivers and keep vehicles in their lanes. This system was introduced in 2021 in vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E, which is the model cited in both incidents.
The recent investigation into the crashes involving BlueCruise comes just days after a new NHTSA probe was opened to determine if Tesla's Autopilot driver-assistant software recall did enough to increase driver engagement and protect lives.
