NHTSA Probes Ford’s Blue Cruise after Deadly Accidents during Hands-Free Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is officially launching an inquiry into Ford’s Blue Cruise hands-free driving technology following two fatal collisions. Introduced last year and now available on several models from both the Ford and Lincoln brands, Blue Cruise enables drivers to take their hands off the wheel and feet away from the pedals while traveling along selected highways, which relies on cameras, sensors and map data to steer vehicles and adjust speed in accordance with traffic. The system employs an internal camera to monitor driver attention throughout this process. In both accidents, Blue Cruise was operational prior to each collision; one incident occurred at nighttime in San Antonio while the other took place near Philadelphia, according to Reuters reports. NHTSA’s investigation will examine how effectively Blue Cruise drives vehicles as well as its capability of monitoring drivers, notes a spokesperson from the Administration regarding the agency’s efforts surrounding both subjects of the upcoming evaluation into this hands-free system introduced by Ford (CNBC). Ford could not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.