The investigation centers on two fatal accidents involving the all-electric Mustang Mach-E
Federal safety regulators are stepping up their investigation of Ford's BlueCruise hands-free technology following two fatal crashes involvingall-electric MustangMach-E models.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is moving the status of the probe to "engineering analysis," a step needed before it could order a recall. The analysis will cover 2021-24 model years, which is about 129,222 cars, according to NHTSA.
In its analysis, NHTSA will investigate Ford's system limitations and "evaluate drivers ability to respond to scenarios that exceed system limitations," NHTSA said in documents.
In total, 32 crashes and 2,004 non-crash reports on Ford vehicles were identified across manufacturer and ODI data sources, NHTSA said.
More than 70mph
In both fatal collisions,the Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicle was traveling over 70 miles per hour on a controlled-access highway during nighttime lighting conditions with hands-free BlueCruise engaged when it collided with a stationary vehicle.
Analysis of data imaged from the vehicles event data recorders demonstrates that in each incident, the driver did not apply the brakes or take evasive steering action, and no deceleration was initiated prior to impact.
Through the agencys crash analysis, four additional frontal collisions were identified where aFord equipped with BlueCruise impacted a stopped or slow-moving lead vehicle or another stationary object located in the travel lane.
Two of these four incidents involved BlueCruise-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles while the other two involved other Ford models.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2025-01-22 00:10:22
