The driver of a Ford electric SUV involved in a fatal crash earlier this year was using the company’s self-driving technology at the time of the crash, federal investigators concluded Thursday.
National Transportation Safety Board stated in the preliminary report It has been revealed that the Ford Mustang Mach-E that was involved in a fatal crash on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, Texas on February 24th was using a “Blue Cruise.”
According to data from the car, the Ford driver was driving in Blue Cruise (which Ford touts as “hands-free highway driving technology”) before colliding with the rear of a parked Honda CR-V. A 56-year-old man died. According to the NTSB, he is a former Honda driver.
A San Antonio police report said the Ford was “partially automated” at the time of the crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also cited the San Antonio crash and another fatal Ford Mach-E crash in Philadelphia on March 3 in which a Blue Cruze is also suspected to have been used. announced that it is also investigating. .
NHTSA requires automakers to report all fatal crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems.
Pennsylvania State Police said Thursday that the Mach-E was in the left lane when it crashed into a parked Hyundai Elantra that had earlier collided with a Toyota Prius, Fortune first reported.
According to the release, the driver of the Prius who was outside the vehicle was struck and thrown into the southbound lane, and the driver of the Hyundai who was in the roadway was also struck.
Both men, ages 21 and 20, were pronounced dead at the scene, Fortune reported, citing a police news release.
A criminal investigation into the March 3 crash is ongoing, and the 23-year-old driver of the Ford Mach-E, who appeared to be in blue cruise mode, has been charged with vehicular homicide by drunk driving.
In both cases, a Ford Mach-E crashed into a stationary vehicle on a highway at night, and neither the driver nor the supposedly high-tech systems were able to stop the collision from occurring.
But Ford’s website boasts that the company’s Blue Cruise system allows drivers to control steering, braking, and acceleration while taking their hands off the wheel on 97% of regulated access highways in the U.S. and Canada. There is.
Still, the company cautions that the technology, introduced in 2021 Mustang Mach-E and F-150 models, won’t replace a human driver and must remain in control at all times.
A Ford spokesperson told the Post that the company has “no higher priority than safety” and is “cooperating fully with both NHTSA and the NTSB.”
This is not the first time NHTSA and NTSB have investigated a crash involving self-driving technology.
Most notably, Elon Musk’s Tesla recalled nearly all of its vehicles sold in the United States late last year to fix a flaw in its Autopilot driver-assistance system. This comes after authorities in Virginia discovered that the car’s software had been activated during a fatal crash last year. July.
The recall of more than 2 million vehicles – reportedly the largest in Tesla history – was revealed as part of an ongoing investigation by the NTSB that began more than two years ago, with 956 cases allegedly involving Autopilot. It also included an investigation into a collision.
The agency determined that Tesla Autopilot’s existing safety measures “may not be sufficient to prevent drivers from exploiting the software.”
Before being allowed to sell electric cars again, Tesla will follow the NTSB’s request to ensure its vehicles have “additional controls and warnings” to remind drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention when using Autopilot. I had to have it taken. road.
Comes with post wire.
