Federal Vehicle Safety Regulators have sent Ford a thorough list of questions about the hands-free driver assistance system known as BlueCruise. This is the latest development in a study that began more than a year ago after two fatal crashes involving software.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Defect Investigation Office (ODI) sent a letter to Ford on June 18th with 25 questions. Many of them are basic, such as asking Ford for a detailed list of vehicles equipped with BlueCruise. However, NHTSA also wants internal Ford documentation related to the crash that caused the probe, development of Blue Cruises, and explanations of changes made to the software.
This is the first “information request” to send Ford since NHTSA upgraded its January survey to what is known as “engineering analysis.” That progression is a necessary step before the NHTSA asks Ford to issue a recall.
A Ford spokesperson told TechCrunch that it is working with the NHTSA to support the investigation.
ODI began its investigation in April 2024 after two fatal crashes. In each of these incidents, the driver used a blueprint when he hit a stationary vehicle. They were the first known deaths resulting from collisions, including the use of a Blue Cruise.
Ford will allow drivers to use blueprints on pre-mapped highways. Hands-free systems use cameras, radar sensors and software to handle steering, speed and braking on certain highways. The software is paired with an in-cabin camera with an eye-opening system that is supposed to ensure that drivers pay attention to the road ahead. The system costs $495 a year, or $2,495 for a one-time purchase, but is available on Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Ford F-150 trucks, and all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The early 2024 crash raised the question of how capable Ford’s system is at recognizing stationary objects. This is an issue that has been wreaking havoc with Tesla’s own driver assistance software for years.
When upgrading its survey in January, NHTSA discovered “limited detection of fixed vehicles under certain conditions” and said BlueCruise’s performance could be limited if visibility is low due to inadequate lighting. (Fat crashes between both occurred at night.)
In a new letter, NHTSA asked Ford for more information about the “logic and/or algorithm” blue cruise software used in detecting and classifying hazards in front of vehicles.
Until August 6, Ford will either submit answers to 25 questions or face civil penalties.
