US authorities investigate use of driver assistance systems in fatal Ford crash – April 11, 2024 at 5:46 pm

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday that it is investigating a fatal March 3 crash between a Ford Mustang Mach-E and two stationary vehicles in Philadelphia that may have involved the use of a driver assistance system.

This is the second recent Ford accident being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in which it is suspected that the ADAS system was used.

A March 3 crash in which a Ford struck two parked cars on I-95 in Philadelphia killed two people and brought traffic to a standstill for hours. The NTSB said it is conducting an investigation in cooperation with the Pennsylvania State Police, who declined to comment.

Ford offers BlueCruise, an advanced hands-free system that works on 97% of US and Canadian highways without intersections or traffic lights.

In March, the NHTSA and NTSB said they were investigating the use of the driver assistance system in the Ford Mustang Mach-E that was involved in a fatal crash in San Antonio, Texas, on February 24 in which the Mach-E crashed. behind a Honda CR-V parked in the lane on Interstate 10. A San Antonio police report states that the Ford had an “autopilot feature” activated at the time of the crash.

Ford said it was recently made aware of the incident by the NTSB and has notified NHTSA, which requires automakers to report fatal crashes involving driver assistance systems.

“We are investigating the events of March 3 and working with both agencies to understand the facts,” Ford said.

NHTSA has opened a special investigation into two of Ford’s most recent crashes. The agency typically launches more than 100 special investigations each year into new technology and other potential safety issues in the automotive industry.

Since 2016, NHTSA has opened more than 40 special investigations into Tesla crashes in which the use of driver systems such as Autopilot was suspected. 23 deaths have been reported so far. Tesla inside

In December it agreed to recall 2 million vehicles

Remind cars to install new safety precautions for Autopilot.

The NTSB has launched several investigations into advanced driver assistance systems in recent years, including Tesla’s Autopilot. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)