Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Ford
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:Ford
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
go-ahead
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
Gadgets
punt
Government & Policy
Hardware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
protection
societal
Space
startup
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
More from TechCrunch
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
The equipment driver of a Mustang Mach - E who crash into a stationary machine in Texas in February was using Ford ’s hands - free number one wood - help system , BlueCruise , agree todata obtainedby the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) .
It ’s the first known human death resulting from a clash involving the use of BlueCruise , which Ford first announced in 2021 . The system allows driver to take their manus off the roulette wheel on pre - mapped main road and use eye - trailing to determine whether driver are paying attention to the route .
The NTSB ’s announcement that BlueCruise was active during the Texas crash comes just one day after the safety plug-in announce it ’s probinga second fatal crashnear Philadelphia where Ford ’s number one wood - assistance system may have been active . Ford told TechCrunch at the time that it reported the Texas crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) and that it was “ actively research all useable information . ” The company declined to remark further on Thursday .
That 2d smash also involved the Ford impacting two stationary cable car , raising dubiousness about whether the automaker ’s equipment driver - assistance system has a alike trouble to what Tesla has deal out with for years with Autopilot . The NHTSA hasspent nearly three years investigatingmore than a dozen crashes where Tesla drivers using Autopilot have crashed into stationary emergency vehicle .
The February collapse bump just outside San Antonio . A 1999 Honda CR - V was stationary in the center lane of Interstate 10 with no sparkle on at around 9:50 p.m. CT , when the Mustang Mach - E go down into the back of it . The Honda flip over and thread up in the left lane . The safety board said Thursday that the Mustang driver “ had been operating the vehicle in BlueCruise mode before the crash . ” The 56 - twelvemonth - honest-to-goodness number one wood of the Honda give-up the ghost after being transfer to the San Antonio Military Medical Center , accord to the police composition , while the equipment driver of the Mustang sustained “ minor injuries . ” law found no polarity of intoxication in the Mustang gadget driver . The NTSB say another driver miss the Honda moments before the Mustang crashed into it .
The NTSB release on Thursday what ’s sleep together as a preliminary report and is still investigating the crash . A interpreter said a final report is potential to be publish within 12 to 24 month . TheNHTSA is also probing the Texas clank , according to The Wall Street Journal .
This story has been update to take down that Ford declined to remark on the newfangled information from the NTSB .
