Feds question Ford in hands-free driving investigation

The best federal vehicle safety regulator sent Ford Exhaustive list of questions About its hand -known driver assistance system known as Bluecruise. It was the last development of an investigation that started Over a year ago After two fatal accidents involving the software.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Settles on Ford Survey Survey Survey (ODI) sent a letter to Ford on June 18 which contains 25 questions. Many of them are basic, such as asking Ford a detailed list of vehicles that have been equipped with Bluecruise. But the NHTSA also wants internal Ford documents related to accidents that have triggered the probe, the development of Bluecruise, the descriptions of all the modifications made to the software, and much more.

This is the first “request for information” that the NHTSA sent Ford since improved the survey in January At a level called “engineering analysis”. This progression is a required step before the NHTSA can ask Ford to make a recall.

A Ford spokesperson told Techcrunch that the company was working with the NHTSA to support this investigation.

The ODI opened the investigation in April 2024 After two fatal accidents. In each of these incidents, the drivers used Bluecruise when they crashed in stationary vehicles. They were the first known deaths resulting from collisions involving the use of Bluecruise.

Ford only allows drivers to use Bluecruise on pre-mapped motorways. The hands -free system uses cameras, radar sensors and software to manage steering, speed and braking on certain highways. The software is associated with a rifle camera with an eye tracking system which is supposed to ensure that drivers pay attention to the road to come. The system, which costs $ 495 per year Or $ 2,495 as a single chapter, is available in the Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Ford F-150 Truck and the Ford Mustang Much-E.

Accidents at the beginning of 2024 raised the question of how the Ford system is capable of recognizing stationary objects – a problem that tormented Tesla’s driver assistance software for years.

The NHTSA said that in January, when it had improved the survey, that it had discovered “limits in the detection of stationary vehicles under certain conditions” and that Bluecruise’s performance “can be limited when there is poor visibility due to insufficient lighting”. (The two fatal accidents occurred at night.)

In the new letter, the NHTSA asked Ford more information on the “logic and / or algorithms of the Bluecruise software used in the detection and classification of dangers before” the vehicle.

Ford has until August 6 to submit his answers to the 25 questions or face civilian sanctions.