US probes Ford hands-free driving tech after two fatal crashes
A US road safety agency is investigating Ford’s BlueCruise driver assistance system following two fatal collisions
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wrote, external in both cases Ford Mustang Mach-E cars collided with stationary vehicles at night, while the system was engaged.
BlueCruise is a driver assistance technology that allows hands-free driving on certain roads, typically motorways.
Ford told the BBC that it was working with NHTSA “to support its investigation”.
In February, a Ford Mustang Mach-E using BlueCruise hit the rear of a stationary Honda, killing the 56-year-old driver of the stopped car, Reuters reported.
The other crash involving a Ford Mach-E occurred in March in Philadelphia.
BlueCruise checks whether drivers are paying attention using eye-tracking cameras, and prompts them to take control back over the vehicle if it identifies any drift in focus.
The NHTSA says its preliminary probe will focus on the driver monitoring aspect of the system, as well as how well it generally performs driving tasks.
The two crashes that prompted the new probe are being investigated separately by another safety body, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The driver assistance technology has also been approved for use on some UK motorways, though there are differences in the way it is implemented and the regulations governing its use, experts say.
Currently it is the only permitted driver assistance technology to allow hands to be taken off the wheel in the UK, the system will only operate on specified sections of road and up to a maximum of 81mph (130kmh).
The “hands off, eyes on” feature launched in the UK last April after receiving government approval.
Its launch was welcomed by transport minister Jesse Norman who said that driver assistance systems “make driving smoother and easier, but they can also help make roads safer by reducing scope for driver error”.
The Department for Transport declined to comment on the new US investigation, but said the approval for Ford’s BlueCruise system for use in the UK was issued following a rigorous examination and assessment process.
The NHTSA’s latest look at driver assistance systems and their performance, following crashes, comes after it announced an investigation into the effectiveness of Tesla’s fix for safety issues identified in its driver assistance system, Autopilot.
Like BlueCruise, Autopilot is an example of Level 2 autonomous driving software – involving partial automation where two or more aspects of driving are controlled by technology, such as speed regulation and parking.
Autopilot requires drivers to be alert and have their hands on the wheel.
Tesla issued a recall in the form of an “over the air” software update to more than two million of its electric vehicles in December.
Zoe Kleinman, the BBC’s technology editor, tried out the hands-free technology in January on one of the UK’s busiest motorways, the M25 which she found “simultaneously relaxing and stressful not being in control of a vehicle travelling at 70 mph in the morning traffic but also knowing you didn’t have to be”.
She found the minute she stopped watching the road BlueCruise deactivated, leaving her back in sole charge.
While the BlueCruise-activated car stayed in lane and kept pace with traffic, Zoe said it also took some actions she said she would not have – undertaking in the left hand lane and appearing to speed up on slip-roads when exiting the motorway, resulting in her deciding to touch the brakes.
“Overall, it felt like the start of a new tech with a long way to go before it’s truly useful,” she said, “that’s if drivers ever feel safe enough to hand over control”.
See more here bbc.co.uk
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Howdy
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People placing absolute trust in tech when it’s a necessity of life is one thing, but doing the same as a lazy past-time is quite another.
I guess some just don’t value life. Unfortunately, when an innocent bystander takes the hit, it’s far worse. The problem should be taken out of the loop until it’s fixed, if ever. That means, ‘ground’ all models and provide the inconvenienced drivers with a courtesy vehicle – at the manufacturers cost of course.
I don’t suppose anybody will actually appear in court over this on the Human loss charges? Somebody is responsible, and it isn’t the end user.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi PSI Reader,
The problem, as Einstein pointed out, nothing is instantaneous.
Have a good day
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy or another PSI Reader,
Do either of you know who Lewis Agassiz was?
Have a good day
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Howdy
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You’ve mentioned him many times Jerry.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy,
To whom are you referring Einstein or Agassiz? Do you see the the problem of using the word “him? Here you cannot say that all a Reader needs to do is read the previous comments. For I have no clue as which, Einstein or Agassiz, you ar referring. And suspect that you know Agassiz is less well known than Einstein.
I asked what you keew about Agassiz and I still don’t know.
Have a good day
(You are getting sloppy in your spelling please double check before you post your comment, rescued from spam bin) SUNMOD
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Sunmod,
I am well aware of my aged caused problems, And I know when I make any mistake on my email address I am informed about it and given a “back” button to press. And when I do this “everything”dis deleted and I need to start ALL OVER. Based upon your comment it seems you are notified of my mistake also. But another observed fact is my delected comment is never posted as the second comment I make is different from the first. But you are right; I make too many mistakes but that not going to make me give up while I am still alive and judge I can comprehend what I read that others write. I just learned where to click when the back button is prompted
Have a good day
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sunsettommy
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I understand your position, I am ok with it since I make allowances knowing your age is a factor which I am dealing with it at a Forum I help moderate who is 83 years old and another forum i Administrate who keeps forgetting his username as he is 81 years old.
Your occasional post shows up in the spam big because of misspellings that is how I know about it.
All is well.
Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy,
I asked a specific question about Agassiz and no other Reader, nor I, can know, to which your non-answer refers.
Have a good day
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Howdy
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Make sense. Jerry.
The line of comments forms a thread. You make a comment, my answer is indented specifically to make things clearer.
“Do either of you know who Lewis Agassiz was?”
“You’ve mentioned him many times Jerry.”
Obviously I’m answering a specific question about Agassiz.
If you want some info, his thoughts on creation, and specifically that each species was from God’s mind, I can understand. However, his racism drops him down a lot of pegs. I guess he wasn’t very objective himself.
Not the man I first thought he was, nor with the mind I expected. Not worth my time to bother with him.
Does that fill the void I left?
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy,
Because I couldn’t spell “erratic” I discovered what you likely read and reported about Agassi. not I discovered what I now read about him one would not discover why I wanted to spell “erratic”. And one would learn why he came to the USA and to Harvard to lecture about glaciation and erratic boulders.
For his history is now written to emphasize the negative truths and not to emphasize the positive truths. So I will try to write his history by emphasizing these positive truths. But I know this well take me some time. But I wanted to clarify the fact you did write what is supported by fact.
Have a good day
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Howdy
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I can only comment on the aspects of the man that interest me, and if you look here:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Agassiz/Activities-in-the-United-States
The report is very favourable, but also includes the negative at the bottom.
Even with the evolution thing, the man doesn’t have enough to hold my interest, so I won’t miss anything by discarding him.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy
In 1917 a book– Louis Agassiz As A Teacher– by Lane Cooper, an English professor at Cornell University was published. In an introductory note Cooper wrote: “When the question was put to Agassiz, ‘What do you regard as your greatest work?’ he replied: ‘I have taught men to observe.’
Cooper’s book is a collection of articles; two of which you can read by going to the following links. These articles were written soon after he died; for they had not supported him as he lost his reputation as a scientist trying to refute Darwin’s theory of the evolution of life. By reading these links you can learn what an unique individual Agassiz was.
(https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9781501740589-008/html?lang=en)
(https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9781501740589-005/html?lang=en)
You (Howdy) maybe are not interested about this; but maybe some PSI readers might be.
Have a good day
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Wisenox
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The vehicles do excessive damage to the roads, exceed road safety guardrail capabilities, and are unfit for evacuation zones.
EV’s should be heavily taxed for the above reasons, and they should be outright banned in evacuation zones. Politicians allowing and promoting them should be liable.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi PSI Reader and Howdy,
First, I admit I am mentally slow. A while ago I referred to a book, OUR AMAZING WORLD OF NATURE published by Readers Digest in 1969. In an article (pp 20-22) Andy Russel, a hunting guide wrote “At once, that sixth sense developed by chronic wanderers of the wilderness warned me that I was not alone. With infinite care I moved my eyes slowly to ehe side—to see the ram not 200 feet away. … The one thing the big-horns never would tolerate, no matter how well they knew us, wea any quick movement”
Suddenly it becomes obvious that AI cannot sense anything (danger) stationary.
Have a good day
,
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Howdy
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Jerry, ‘AI’ is lines of code, it’s basically ordered ones and zeros.
It’s nothing more than a dumb drone – a blank slate. It senses nothing, knows nothing, It has no intelligence. If you attach a camera, the running program has no concept of what has been attached until it is given detailed description of what the device is, and how it is addressed, while even a child might look through the viewfinder and press the shutter button never having seen one before.
It is not artificial intelligence since it does not demonstrate such a thing. It is a program like any other.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Howdy,
In these opening lines “The content activity you Venetians display in your famous arsenal suggests to the studious mind a large field for investigation,” [as translated to English by Crew and de Salveo and published in 1914] Galileo defined what would be required for one to benefit from reading further. But he immediately added a second ‘”especially that part of the work which involves mechanics,”
So Howdy, based upon your previous comments, what is the purpose of your comments? Are you a mechanic?
Have a good day,
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Howdy
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‘Mechanic’: An old school name for a person involved in vehicle repair, maintenance, or rebuilding of components, including engines, gearboxes, bodywork and such. Now seemingly referenced as a technician in some places.
I can be many things, though I am nothing in particular. I can ‘turn my hand’ to such practices to keep a vehicle on the road, or rebuild the engine for example.
It is a case of survival when one’s income is low, and ability allows. Their is no other choice, and my experience of dealers and garages is that they are lackadaisical, incompetent, or even simply out to take one’s hard earned income for no actual work done. Seen it many times.
The point of my comments? Food for thought is what I see them as. Based on experience where appropriate. People can take them or leave them.
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