Autonomous driving technology BlueCruise involved in collision, Ford Motor Company (F.US) faces investigation from American regulatory agencies.

Ford Motor Company (F.US) is facing an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States, as it has been reported that the automaker's BlueCruise "hands-off-the-wheel" autonomous driving technology has been involved in collisions. The investigation covers approximately 129,222 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 (BlueCruise). In April 2024, the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) initiated a preliminary investigation into BlueCruise after receiving notifications of two accidents involving Mustang Mach-E vehicles colliding with stationary vehicles. Both collisions occurred in nighttime lighting conditions and resulted in at least one fatality. In June, the ODI issued an information request, asking the automaker to provide certain information related to collisions, non-collision incidents, and technical specifications of BlueCruise and other parts of the driving automation system. In response, the company stated that 2,539,962 Ford and Lincoln vehicles (including test subjects and peer vehicles) are equipped with partial driving automation systems. The regulatory agency stated, "Based on NHTSA's analysis, the system limitations in detecting stationary vehicles in highway driving and nighttime lighting conditions appear to be factors contributing to the collisions under investigation and several apparently similar near-collision incidents and non-collision reports." As a result, an engineering analysis has been initiated to further investigate these system limitations and assess the driver's response capabilities in situations that exceed the system limitations. During the analysis period, vehicle evaluations are expected to be conducted, additional technical information reviewed, and further analysis of relevant collision and non-collision reports undertaken.