The Nationwide Transportation Security Board is investigating a deadly crash in San Antonio, Texas, involving a Ford electrical automobile that will have been utilizing {a partially} automated driving system.
The company mentioned in a press release Friday {that a} workforce of investigators from its Workplace of Freeway Security will journey to Texas and work with police on the Feb. 24 crash on Interstate 10.
The NTSB mentioned that preliminary data reveals a Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV geared up with the corporate’s partially automated driving system collided with the rear of a Honda CR-V that was stopped in one of many freeway lanes.
Television station KSAT reported that the Mach-E driver informed police the Honda was stopped within the center lane with no lights on earlier than the crash round 9:50 p.m. The 56-year-old driver of the CR-V was killed.
“NTSB is investigating this fatal crash due to its continued interest in advanced driver assistance systems and how vehicle operators interact with these technologies,” the company assertion mentioned.
Ford’s Blue Cruise system permits drivers to take their palms off the steering wheel whereas it handles steering, braking and acceleration on highways. The corporate says the system isn’t totally autonomous and it screens drivers to ensure they take note of the highway. It operates on 97% of managed entry highways within the U.S. and Canada, Ford says.
There are not any totally autonomous automobiles on the market to the general public within the U.S.
The NTSB mentioned investigators will journey to San Antonio to look at wreckage, acquire details about the crash scene and look into the occasions main as much as the collision. A preliminary report is predicted inside 30 days.
In a press release, Ford mentioned it’s researching the crash and the information usually are not but clear. The corporate expressed sympathy to these concerned and mentioned it reported the crash to the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration.
Each NHTSA and the NTSB have investigated a number of earlier crashes involving partially automated driving methods, most involving Tesla’s Autopilot. In previous investigations, the NTSB has examined how the partially automated system functioned.
