US safety regulators are expanding their investigation into Ford’s silent driving technology

The US federal safety regulator has “upgraded” its investigation into Ford’s silent advanced driver assistance system known as BlueCruise – a step required before a recall.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defect Investigation launched an investigation Ford entered BlueCruise last April after the agency confirmed the system was active on Ford Mustang Mach E vehicles. two fatal accidents. In both cases, Mustang Mach E cars hit stationary cars.

NHTSA has published stay tuned this week elevated the investigation to engineering analysis. That means the agency will conduct further analysis of BlueCruise and its potential limitations, including vehicle evaluations, additional technical data reviews, and related accident and non-accident reports.

Approximately 129,222 Ford Mustang Mach E vehicles are equipped with BlueCruise. according to regulator. Ford did not respond to a request for comment. (TechCrunch will update the article if this changes.)

The agency said in its initial review that BlueCruise has limitations in “detecting stationary vehicles under certain conditions.” These limitations include the potential for the Ford vehicle to falsely detect stationary objects at long distances when traveling at speeds of 62 miles per hour or more.

“Additionally, system performance may be limited when visibility is poor due to insufficient lighting,” NHTSA said.

Ford BlueCruise debuted 2021 on the 2021 F-150 pickup and certain 2021 Mustang Mach-E models. The hands-free function uses cameras, radar sensors and software to provide a combination of adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and speed sign recognition. BlueCruise and a competitor GM’s Super Cruise Both systems are silent, although a cabin camera monitors to ensure drivers’ eyes are on the road.

These systems are considered rivals to Tesla Autopilot, which still requires the driver’s hands to remain on the wheel. Autopilot and the improved Tesla Full Self-Driving program are still considered less restrictive than Ford BlueCruise, which only operates on certain pre-mapped highways.

Last October NHTSA also launched an investigation After four accidents, including one in which a pedestrian was killed, including Tasla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” program. That investigation is ongoing.