Feds Ford in the investigation of hands -free leadership

Send the Supreme Federal Federal Vehicle Carmatology Regulator A comprehensive list of questions About the hands -free driver assistance system known as Bluecruise. It is the latest development in the investigation that started More than a year ago After two fatal accidents that involve the program.

The Bureau of the National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has sent a letter to Ford on June 18 containing 25 questions. Many of them are essential, such as a Ford request for a detailed menu of vehicles equipped with Bluecruise. But NHTSA also wants Ford’s internal documents related to collision that sparked the investigation, the development of Bluecruise, the descriptions of any changes made on the program, and much more.

It is the first “request for information” sent by NHTSA Ford since that It promoted the investigation in January To a level known as “engineering analysis”. This progress is a required step before NHTSA can request a Ford for a call.

A Ford spokesman told Techcrunch that the company is working with NHTSA to support this investigation.

ODI opened the investigation in April 2024 After two deadly accidents. In each of these incidents, drivers used Bluecruise when they crashed into the vehicles that were fixed. The first known deaths caused by the Bluecruise use incidents.

Ford only allows drivers to use Bluecruise on pre -prepared highways. The hands -free system uses cameras, radar sensors and programs to deal with guidance, speed and braking on certain fast ways. The program is paired with a camera inside the cabin with the eye tracking system that is supposed to ensure attention to drivers on the front. System, Which costs $ 495 a year Or $ 2,495 as one-time purchase, available in Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Ford F-150, and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

In early 2024, incidents raised the issue of Ford’s ability to identify fixed organisms-a problem that has been afflicted with software helping the driver in Tesla for years.

NHTSA said in January, when she upgraded the investigation, she discovered “restrictions in discovering fixed vehicles in certain circumstances” and that Bluecruise’s performance “may be limited when there is poor visibility due to adequate lighting.” (Both deadly accidents occurred at night.)

In the new message, NHTSA asked Ford to obtain more information about “logic and/or algorithms” for the Bluecruise program used to discover and classify risk in front of “the car.

Ford until August 6 to provide its responses to 25 questions or face civil sanctions.