The NTSB is Investigating Fatal Crashes Involving the Ford Mustang Mach-E and BlueCruise
We’ve talked at length about Tesla’s troubles with driver monitoring and crashes tied to its semi-autonomous driver assistance features, but now, it’s Ford’s turn under the microscope. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced that it would investigate a fatal crash that happened in early March involving a Ford Mustang Mach-E and two cars on the interstate in Philadelphia.
The crash happened on March 3, when a Mustang Mach-E ran into two stationary cars on I95 in the city. The NTSB was already looking into another crash involving a Mach-E that happened in late February. That fatal crash happened in Texas when the Ford crashed into a Honda CR-V that was sitting in traffic on Highway 10. Ford said it had reported the incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as required.
The scrutiny around hands-free and partially automated driving systems is becoming more intense as the number of serious crashes piles up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently reported that its new ratings program for the systems found that most systems fall short on driver monitoring to prevent misuse and maintain focus. It noted that there is “little evidence” that the systems make driving safer and can actually induce an inflated sense of capability and security for drivers.
[Image: Ford]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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"It noted that there is “little evidence” that the systems make driving safer and can actually induce an inflated sense of capability and security for drivers."
Yup. American drivers are not well trained, don't understand basic rules of the road (left lane is passing lane, turn signal usage, etc), are distracted by everything and some are hopped up on scripts, prescribed and otherwise. Now we have told them that their attention while driving is needed while the car kinda sorta drives itself.
Abbott and Costello would have some fun with this.
This is why these are cheap now!
Blues Clues or BlueCruise?
In a related story, Ford is leading the industry with 18 recalls so far this year affecting 2.24 million vehicles.
GM has had 6 recalls affecting 626k vehicles.
FCA is at 17 recalls affecting 1 million vehicles.