Self-Driving Technology Expanding; Driver Attention Still Needed

The driver assistance systems of two of America’s leading automakers are in the headlines again, but for contrasting reasons.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) tech was reportedly in operation when a 2022 Model S collided with a motorcycle in an incident near Seattle, Washington, in which the rider was killed.

Meanwhile, Ford’s BlueCruise  has made another significant step forward in its rollout, having been approved for use in 12 new countries by the European Commission.

According to the Associated Press, which broke the news of the Tesla crash, the fatality occurred 15 miles north-east of Seattle.

Use of FSD, which is a more advanced form of automated technology than Autopilot, is rated at Level 2 by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The use of FSD was confirmed when investigators from the Washington State Patrol downloaded information from the event-data recorder of the Model S, according to the statement the AP reported it received.

The report said the “the driver told a trooper that he was using Tesla’s Autopilot system and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving.” He then reported hearing a bang and the vehicle lurched forward, colliding with the motorcycle.

The latest version of FSD can deliver hands-free driving in certain circumstances, but the company’s website makes clear that lack of attention is not appropriate when using the technology, stating: “Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.

Related:Ford BlueCruise Hands-Free Tech Approved for Germany

“While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

However, there has been ongoing concern that Tesla does not do enough to prevent misuse of the technology by drivers, which prompted a mammoth recall of 2 million cars in the United States in December. In April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration admitted it was looking into the effectiveness of the recall, amid fears it had not gone far enough to stop misuse.

Tesla has long been accused of making misleading claims about the effectiveness of FSD, potentially lulling drivers into a false sense of security, and CEO Elon Musk has even started to refer to it as Supervised FSD in a bid to ward off criticism. But with the company’s renewed focus on AI and autonomy, it is still heavily promoting the technology and only last week Musk claimed Unsupervised FSD could be ready next year.

Related:Teslas Recalled to Stop Hood Opening; 1.8M affected

Meanwhile, Ford’s hands-free BlueCruise system is now available in 12 more European countries following its introduction across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. The latest to be added are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

The approval of BlueCruise by the European Commission means it can be used on more than 82,000 miles of highways across the continent.

There are now more than 420,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles globally fitted with the feature, although in Europe it is currently limited to the Mustang Mach-E.

BlueCruise allows “hands off, eyes on” driving, and can control the steering, acceleration, braking and lane positioning, although the human driver must always be ready to assume control.

Ashley Lambrix of Ford said: “We believe Blue Cruise can make highway driving easier and more enjoyable whether you are in stop-and-go traffic or on a long road trip, and with this recent ruling it will allow us to offer even more customers access to BlueCruise across Europe.”