
NHTSA opens engineering analysis on Ford BlueCruise, lane assist
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an engineering analysis (EA) after investigating Ford’s BlueCruise driver-assist system since April of 2024, according to an investigation update.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened the investigation after receiving notice of two fatal collisions involving BlueCruise-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. The investigation was expanded from just Mach-E vehicles to all crashes and non-cras reports related to BlueCruise, as well as other Ford partial driving automation systems that offer lane and speed maintenance.
Ford identified more than 2.5 million vehicles fitting NHTSA’s partial driving automation system description, the update says. A majority of the vehicles are equipped with lane centering assist (LCA), which is a hands-on partial driving automation system that combines longitudinal control authority governed by adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lateral control governed by a steerable path.
LCA is offered on a wide range of Ford and Lincoln models starting in model year 2019, the update says. It adds that vehicles equipped with BlueCruise have LCA capability and additional hands-free partial driving automation when certain conditions are met.
BlueCruise is only offered on certain roadways that are geofenced using a vehicle’s GPS. BlueCruise, which uses a camera-based driver monitoring system to determine driver attentiveness to the roadway was introduced in model year 2021.
Camera and radar sensing technologies are used to detect and classify objects on vehicles that are equipped with BlueCruise, LCA, ACC and pre-collision assist (PCA), the update says. It adds ACC is designed to detect vehicles and bicycles in front of it, which are either stationary or moving in the same direction as the subject vehicle.
“Through this investigation, limitations in the detection of stationary vehicles in certain conditions have been identified,” the update says. “Specifically, due to the potential for false detection of stationary objects at long distances, Ford designed ACC to inhibit any response to reported stationary objects when the subject vehicle’s approach speed is at or above 62 mph. Additionally, system performance may be limited when there is poor visibility due to insufficient illumination.”
Overall, ODI reviewed 32 crashes and 2,004 non-crash reports of Ford vehicles equipped with the technology, the update says. This includes an analysis of police reports, photographs, data recovered from in-vehicle event data records and connected vehicle data.
The two Mustang Mach-E collisions, which spurred the investigation, happened during nighttime lighting conditions. The vehicles also were both traveling over 70 miles per hour on a controlled-access highway with hands-free BlueCruise engaged when it collided with a stationary vehicle.
“Analysis of data imaged from the vehicles’ event data recorders demonstrates that in each incident, the driver did not apply the brakes or take evasive steering action, and no deceleration was initiated by either the BlueCruise system or PCA prior to impact,” the update says. “Through the agency’s crash analysis, four additional frontal collisions were identified where the subject Ford impacted a stopped or slow-moving lead vehicle or another stationary object located in the travel lane.”
Two of the four incidents involved BlueCruise-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. The other two vehicles involved other Ford models equipped with the LCA system.
“Additionally, a trend was identified through analysis of the non-crash reports relating to allegations that ACC (the longitudinal component of both BlueCruise and LCA) failed to detect and/or respond to a stopped or slow-moving lead vehicle,” the update says.” In these reports, consumers often describe that the absence of deceleration initiated by ACC was unexpected and required harsh manual braking or intervention from the PCA to avoid a frontal collision with the lead vehicle.”
NHTSA is continuing to investigate with the opening of its EA. During the EA, the agency will perform vehicle evaluations, review additional technical information and perform additional analysis of related crashes and non-crash reports.
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Photo of Ford Mustang Mach-E after a fatal Feb. 24 crash in Texas/The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)