DETROIT — The Nationwide Transportation Security Board is investigating a deadly crash in San Antonio, Texas, involving a Ford electrical automobile which will have been utilizing {a partially} automated driving system.
The company stated in a press release Friday {that a} crew 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 stated 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.
Tv station KSAT reported that the Mach-E driver advised 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 deadly crash as a result of its continued curiosity in superior driver help programs and the way automobile operators work together with these applied sciences,” the company assertion stated.
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 is not absolutely autonomous and it displays drivers to ensure they take note of the street. It operates on 97% of managed entry highways within the U.S. and Canada, Ford says.
There are not any absolutely autonomous automobiles on the market to the general public within the U.S.
The NTSB stated investigators will journey to San Antonio to look at wreckage, accumulate 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 stated it’s researching the crash and the information will not be but clear. The corporate expressed sympathy to these concerned and stated 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 programs, most involving Tesla’s Autopilot. In previous investigations, the NTSB has examined how the partially automated system functioned.
