Two fatal crashes in 2024 involving Ford vehicles using the company’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system likely occurred while drivers were distracted in the moments before impact, according to documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The safety agency said it will hold a public hearing on March 31 in Washington, D.C., to review the findings and may issue recommendations to Ford following the discussion.
The NTSB investigates transportation accidents but does not regulate the industry. A final report on the crashes is expected in the weeks after the hearing.
Separate Federal Investigation Also Underway
The crashes have also prompted an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In early 2025, the regulator said BlueCruise may have limitations in detecting stationary vehicles under certain conditions.
The agency later upgraded its probe and sent Ford a detailed set of questions in June 2025. Ford responded in August, and the investigation remains active.
Ford has consistently described BlueCruise as a driver-assistance feature rather than a self-driving system.
The company states that drivers must remain attentive and ready to take control of the vehicle at all times.
Ford also warns customers that BlueCruise is not designed as a crash warning or collision avoidance system.
Buyers can purchase the feature for a one-time fee of $2,495 or through a $495 annual subscription.
Texas Crash Involved Driver Looking At Infotainment Screen
The first fatal crash occurred in February 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.
A driver operating a 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E in the center lane of Interstate 10 struck a stationary 1999 Honda CR-V at approximately 74 miles per hour.
The Ford driver sustained minor injuries, while the Honda driver died from injuries sustained in the collision.
Documents released by the NTSB show the vehicle’s driver-monitoring system detected the driver looking at the infotainment screen in the five seconds leading up to the crash.
The system registered the driver glancing toward the road only briefly at about 3.6 seconds and again at 1.6 seconds before impact.
The vehicle issued two visual and audio alerts within the 30 seconds before the crash warning the driver to watch the road.
The driver did not brake before impact.
Police records indicate the driver told investigators he was using the vehicle’s navigation system to locate a charging station.
One report states he may have looked at the center display because navigation directions were visible on the screen.
The NTSB said a still image captured two seconds before the crash showed the driver sitting upright with his head resting or nearly resting against the headrest.
After speaking with police, the driver retained an attorney who declined to allow further interviews with investigators.
Philadelphia Crash Involved Intoxicated Driver
The second fatal crash occurred in March 2024 in Philadelphia.
A 2022 Mustang Mach-E traveling on Interstate 95 collided with a stopped 2012 Hyundai Elantra at around 3:16 a.m.
The Elantra had struck a Toyota Prius that had stopped ahead of it on the roadside.
Both the Elantra and Prius drivers died. The Mach-E driver sustained minor injuries.
Police said the driver, identified as 23-year-old Dimple Patel, was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
She was charged with DUI homicide in late 2024.
Her attorney, Zak Goldstein, said Wednesday that the case remains pending and no trial date has been set.
The vehicle was traveling approximately 72 miles per hour in a construction zone with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour.
NTSB documents show the driver-monitoring system recorded Patel’s eyes as directed toward the road during the five seconds before the crash.
However, an image taken two seconds before impact appears to show her holding a phone above the steering wheel and partially outside the view of the monitoring system.
Ford did not immediately respond to questions about whether it was aware of potential blind spots in the driver-monitoring system.
Vehicle Safety Systems Did Not Engage
Modern Ford vehicles include forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems that operate separately from BlueCruise.
Ford describes those systems as driver-assistance technologies that supplement, but do not replace, driver attention.
According to the NTSB, no vehicle subsystem applied braking in either of the fatal crashes.
In meetings with investigators following the Texas crash, Ford employees explained that current radar-camera safety systems may struggle to detect stationary vehicles in certain scenarios.
Factors such as travel speed, nearby vehicle movements, and environmental conditions can limit detection accuracy.
Ford told investigators that under such conditions, automatic emergency braking systems might not classify a stationary object with enough confidence to activate braking.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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