The driver of a Mustang Mach-E that crashed into a stationary car in Texas in February was using Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver assistance system, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
It is the first known fatality in a BlueCruise crash, which Ford first announced in 2021. The system allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on pre-mapped highways and uses eye tracking to determine whether drivers are paying attention to the road.
The NTSB’s announcement that BlueCruise was active during the Texas crash comes just a day after the safety agency said it was investigating a second fatal crash near Philadelphia in which Ford’s driver assistance system may have been active. Ford told TechCrunch at the time that it had reported the Texas accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and that it was “actively researching all available information.” The company declined further comment Thursday.
In this second accident, the Ford also collided with two stationary cars, raising questions about whether the automaker’s driver assistance system is having a similar problem to what Tesla has had with Autopilot for years. NHTSA has spent nearly three years investigating more than a dozen accidents in which Tesla drivers using Autopilot collided with stationary emergency vehicles.
The February crash occurred just outside of San Antonio. A 1999 Honda CR-V was parked in the center lane of Interstate 10 with no lights on around 9:50 p.m. CT when the Mustang Mach-E was rear-ended. The Honda overturned and entered the left lane. The safety agency said Thursday that the Mustang driver “had been operating the vehicle in BlueCruise mode prior to the accident.” The 56-year-old driver of the Honda died after being transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center, according to the police report, while the driver of the Mustang suffered “minor injuries.” Police found no signs of drunkenness on the part of the Mustang driver. The NTSB said another driver missed the Honda just before the Mustang hit.
The NTSB released a so-called preliminary report Thursday and is still investigating the crash. A spokesman said a final report is expected to be published within 12 to 24 months. According to the Wall Street Journal, the NHTSA is also investigating the crash in Texas.
This story has been updated to note that Ford declined to comment on the NTSB’s new information.
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