We’ve talked at length about Tesla’s troubles with driver monitoring and crashes tied to its semi-autonomous driver assistance features, but now, it’s Ford’s turn under the microscope. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced that it would investigate a fatal crash that happened in early March involving a Ford Mustang Mach-E and two cars on the interstate in Philadelphia.
The crash happened on March 3, when a Mustang Mach-E ran into two stationary cars on I95 in the city. The NTSB was already looking into another crash involving a Mach-E that happened in late February. That fatal crash happened in Texas when the Ford crashed into a Honda CR-V that was sitting in traffic on Highway 10. Ford said it had reported the incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as required.
The scrutiny around hands-free and partially automated driving systems is becoming more intense as the number of serious crashes piles up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently reported that its new ratings program for the systems found that most systems fall short on driver monitoring to prevent misuse and maintain focus. It noted that there is “little evidence” that the systems make driving safer and can actually induce an inflated sense of capability and security for drivers.
[Image: Ford]
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