The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that driver inattention and overreliance on Ford Motor Company's BlueCruise advanced driver-assistance system contributed to two fatal 2024 crashes and is urging stronger federal standards for partial automation.
In findings released March 31, the board said two 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles operating with BlueCruise engaged struck stationary vehicles at highway speed in separate crashes in San Antonio and Philadelphia, killing three people. In both cases, investigators found no driver-applied or system-initiated braking or steering in the moments before impact.
The Texas crash occurred Feb. 24, 2024, when a Mach-E on Interstate 10 struck a stopped Honda CR-V, killing its driver. In Philadelphia on March 3, 2024, another Mach-E struck a Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Prius on Interstate 95 in a work zone, causing them to collide with a passing Toyota Corolla. The drivers of the Elantra and Prius were killed.
"We determined that the probable cause of the San Antonio crash was the driver's failure to respond to the stationary vehicle ahead due to distraction, likely from the in-vehicle navigation system, stemming from overreliance on the vehicle's hands-free partial automation system," the findings say. In Philadelphia, the driver failed to respond because of impairment from alcohol, distraction likely from cellphone use and speeding, also stemming from overreliance on the system.
The findings identified system design limitations, saying Ford's driver-monitoring system "did not effectively mitigate visual distraction and driver disengagement" and that both crashes revealed deficiencies including allowing drivers to disable automatic emergency braking and set cruise speeds up to 20 mph -- 32 kmh --above posted limits.
"We cannot take a 'hands off' approach to hands-free driving technology. Lives depend on it," NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
In a statement, Ford said no quality defects or equipment failures were found in BlueCruise and that the recommendations would be taken under serious consideration.
The findings say there are no federal U.S. requirements for these systems to record crash data and no standardized driver-monitoring performance requirements. Recommendations were issued to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the U.S. vehicle safety regulator — and Ford on crash-data recording, driver monitoring and system design.
In Canada, Transport Canada has consulted on minimum performance requirements for ADAS, identifying overreliance as a central concern. "Remember that these systems are designed to help you. They can't replace you," its consumer guidance states.
