The National Transportation Safety Board issued findings March 31 concluding that Ford Motor Co.'s BlueCruise hands-free partial automation system had safety-critical design gaps that contributed to two fatal 2024 highway crashes.
For collision repairers who calibrate ADAS systems after every qualifying repair, the National Transportation Safety Board's action signals that federal scrutiny of these systems, and the standards governing them, is intensifying.
NTSB Cites Distraction, Overreliance, and System Failures
The NTSB investigated two fatal rear-end collisions with stationary vehicles at highway speeds. In both crashes, the striking vehicle was a 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E operated in partial driving automation mode.
The NTSB 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 and disengagement from the driving task.
Contributing to the crash was the inability of the Ford vehicle's partial automation system, including its automatic emergency braking system, to detect and respond to the stationary vehicle ahead.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the Philadelphia crash was the driver's failure to respond to the stationary vehicles ahead due to impairment from alcohol that may have been worsened by cannabis use, as well as distraction, likely from cell phone use, stemming from overreliance on and misuse of the vehicle's hands-free partial automation system.
NTSB Issues Six New Safety Recommendations to Ford, NHTSA, and DOT
The NTSB issued six new safety recommendations. To the DOT, it recommended issuing comprehensive guidelines for manufacturers implementing partial automation systems, covering integration and concurrent engagement of safety-critical technologies, driver engagement by design, reduction of automation complacency risks, and maximum operational speed limits based on system capabilities.
NHTSA was directed to require manufacturers to equip new Level 2-capable vehicles with telematics that notify manufacturers of reportable crashes, to amend event data recorder regulations to capture ADAS-related data elements, and to require driver monitoring systems capable of minimizing driver disengagement, automation complacency, and misuse.
Ford was directed to revise its driver monitoring systems to detect accumulated short distractions over prolonged periods, differentiate genuine on-road glances from attention directed to objects in the driver's line of sight, and modify BlueCruise to require that automatic emergency braking remains engaged and that the Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control uses speed tolerances to mitigate excessive speeding.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in the agency's March 31 press release: "We cannot take a 'hands off' approach to hands-free driving technology. Lives depend on it."
A Ford spokesperson, as reported by CNN, said the investigation found “no quality defects or equipment failures in BlueCruise” and that the company would take the NTSB's recommendations under serious consideration. A final NTSB report is expected within several weeks.
Lisa McArdle