2 Mach-E Blue Cruise Fatalities

[UncleDave]

2 rear ending accidents. In one case the person was drunk.

To me this is nothing more than misuse of the driving aid, but its going to be more complicated for Ford as (It seems) in both cases the vehicle we're on/in geofenced "hands free" driving areas.


https://apnews.com/article/ford-blu...ation-deaths-4429651e132e3702a6a2a6a127aebbc2

 

[Cujet]

Yikes.

I've been playing with the free-trial Blue Cruise on my new F150. So far, it's pretty good. No glitches or problems.

I've noticed that it does not like my eyes squinted closed. But I really have to close them down to nothing before it starts complaining. With RayBan sunglasses, it seems to not care what my eyes are doing.

The lane keeping system when Blue Cruise is not engaged is another story. I can have both hands hanging on the wheel at 10 and 2, on a long straight FL road and it starts complaining, then hits the brakes twice and alarms, then puts on the flashers and comes to a complete stop. Still with both hands on the wheel.

Put another way, the lane keeping system looks for wheel motion and when there is none, like when the road is straight, it goes into protection mode right away.

Ford probably does this to get you to pay $800 per year for Blue Cruise. That's never going to happen in my household. It is not autopilot and it is super easy to drive on the highway.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I don't know about Blue Cruise but my guess is the instructions tell the driver to keep control of the vehicle at all times.
If so, then the problem is driver error.

 

[demarpaint]

Very sad. It's tough to blame the driver for driver error if he isn't around to tell his story. Sending prayers.

 

[UncleDave]

Very sad. It's tough to blame the driver for driver error if he isn't around to tell his story. Sending prayers.

One of them isnt, super sad.
The other is still around and killed two other people also super sad.

 

[Jetronic]

My car has level 2 self driving, and while I use the ACC I am always ready to override it. But it seems to stop the car if traffic comes to a halt, until it doesn't of course.

 

[2005jettatdi]

My 2021 Mach E on cruise control supposedly will not let me rear end someone. I like that feature for safety but it does not relieve me of responsibility for good driving.

 

[bullwinkle]

Yikes.

I've been playing with the free-trial Blue Cruise on my new F150. So far, it's pretty good. No glitches or problems.

I've noticed that it does not like my eyes squinted closed. But I really have to close them down to nothing before it starts complaining. With RayBan sunglasses, it seems to not care what my eyes are doing.

The lane keeping system when Blue Cruise is not engaged is another story. I can have both hands hanging on the wheel at 10 and 2, on a long straight FL road and it starts complaining, then hits the brakes twice and alarms, then puts on the flashers and comes to a complete stop. Still with both hands on the wheel.

Put another way, the lane keeping system looks for wheel motion and when there is none, like when the road is straight, it goes into protection mode right away.

Ford probably does this to get you to pay $800 per year for Blue Cruise. That's never going to happen in my household. It is not autopilot and it is super easy to drive on the highway.

Can the lane keeping system be turned off? On the Transits, depressing the end of the turn signal stalk turns it off. It's an annoying system, always shaking the steering wheel if you get near a lane marker or stripe.

 

[Cujet]

Can the lane keeping system be turned off? On the Transits, depressing the end of the turn signal stalk turns it off. It's an annoying system, always shaking the steering wheel if you get near a lane marker or stripe.

The lane keeping system is flat out infuriating. I can't deal with it, AT ALL. Did a 600 mile trip today.

I can have both hands hanging on the wheel at 10 and 2, and it still brings the truck to a complete stop with flashers on. That system needs a work-around, big time. Maybe a 5 pound weight on the steering wheel.

But to answer your question, yes the steering wheel button turns it off. Thank God.

BlueCruise lane-keeps well enough. Worth paying exactly nothing for though. Like other systems, even on the closest following setting, drivers pass you and move in front, NON STOP. Which leads to brake application and more drivers cutting in front. Watched my speed go from 80 to 57 as this happens. Gave up and drove the truck like a man.

EDIT: BC is limited to 80MPH. I was for a time, the slowest vehicle on the road. Sorry Ford, that's not good enough.

 

[UncleDave]

My 2021 Mach E on cruise control supposedly will not let me rear end someone. I like that feature for safety but it does not relieve me of responsibility for good driving.

In the case of the three dead people it seems the system needs work.

 

[andrew_j]

Why didn’t the auto braking engage?

Our 18 Tiguan with sort of primitive tech has auto braking and it works pretty well or at least stops vehicle enough to make a less severe collision.

 

[demarpaint]

Very sad. It's tough to blame the driver for driver error if he isn't around to tell his story. Sending prayers.

Actually I posted this and later realized after it was too late to edit I made a mistake. What I really meant to write is is very easy to blame it on driver error when the driver isn't around to tell his side of the story. Very Sad!! IMO after reading some of the replies here this system is not ready for prime time.

 

[fdcg27]

If Tesla has been working on an autonomous driving system for years without any real breakthrough, why would we expect better of Ford?
These setups seem to work great until they run into something they can't figure out in real time and an accident results, no pun intended.
Anything that relies upon lane markings for navigating the road cannot be the answer.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

In the case of the three dead people it seems the system needs work.

So does the system of certifying drivers themselves.

 

[RhondaHonda]

The lane keeping system is flat out infuriating. I can't deal with it, AT ALL. Did a 600 mile trip today.

I can have both hands hanging on the wheel at 10 and 2, and it still brings the truck to a complete stop with flashers on. That system needs a work-around, big time. Maybe a 5 pound weight on the steering wheel.

But to answer your question, yes the steering wheel button turns it off. Thank God.

BlueCruise lane-keeps well enough. Worth paying exactly nothing for though. Like other systems, even on the closest following setting, drivers pass you and move in front, NON STOP. Which leads to brake application and more drivers cutting in front. Watched my speed go from 80 to 57 as this happens. Gave up and drove the truck like a man.

EDIT: BC is limited to 80MPH. I was for a time, the slowest vehicle on the road. Sorry Ford, that's not good enough.

I hung a kids water bottle off the paddle shifter on my Raptor and it would drive itself on the highway, maybe 1 pound max. I don’t know if the non-Raptor F-150s have the paddles but it worked great to eliminate the warning messages.

 

[bullwinkle]

The lane keeping system is flat out infuriating. I can't deal with it, AT ALL. Did a 600 mile trip today.

I can have both hands hanging on the wheel at 10 and 2, and it still brings the truck to a complete stop with flashers on. That system needs a work-around, big time. Maybe a 5 pound weight on the steering wheel.

But to answer your question, yes the steering wheel button turns it off. Thank God.

BlueCruise lane-keeps well enough. Worth paying exactly nothing for though. Like other systems, even on the closest following setting, drivers pass you and move in front, NON STOP. Which leads to brake application and more drivers cutting in front. Watched my speed go from 80 to 57 as this happens. Gave up and drove the truck like a man.

EDIT: BC is limited to 80MPH. I was for a time, the slowest vehicle on the road. Sorry Ford, that's not good enough.

I feel for you guys who have to drive I-95 regularly-I have to deal with I-75 daily myself, that's dangerous enough!

 

[Torrid]

I hung a kids water bottle off the paddle shifter on my Raptor and it would drive itself on the highway, maybe 1 pound max. I don’t know if the non-Raptor F-150s have the paddles but it worked great to eliminate the warning messages.

I don’t know if I can support intentionally defeating a safety device like this.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I hung a kids water bottle off the paddle shifter on my Raptor and it would drive itself on the highway, maybe 1 pound max. I don’t know if the non-Raptor F-150s have the paddles but it worked great to eliminate the warning messages.

Why in the world would you do such a thing? That's crazy dangerous!

 

[Cujet]

Why in the world would you do such a thing? That's crazy dangerous!

Just the opposite. A functional and active system will react a lot faster than a person

 

[Torrid]

Just the opposite. A functional and active system will react a lot faster than a person

It’s designed specifically not to be used this way because of reliability and legality reasons.