Eyes on the road… but hands on your lap! After road testing a self-driving Ford Mustang, it WAS a relief to master the wheel again
- The BlueCruise system monitors road markings, speed signs and traffic conditions
- The hands-off system also controls steering, acceleration and braking
As someone who doesn’t even enjoy driving an automatic car, it would always be unnerving to surrender more control to a driverless vehicle.
And when I got into the driver’s seat of a Mustang Mach-E (from £50,800) yesterday to experience the BlueCruise ‘hands-off’ system, I held the steering wheel tight.
But once on the M40 I was instructed to press a little button and sit back and relax – if I could – while the car took over.
When a monitor above the steering wheel flashed blue to indicate that the system had been activated, I nervously took my hands off the wheel.
The system monitors road markings, speed signs and traffic conditions and controls steering, acceleration, braking and lane position.
It allows the car to maintain a safe distance from the vehicles in front and slows to a stop in a traffic jam.
When I got into the driver’s seat of a Mustang Mach-E (from £50,800) yesterday to experience the BlueCruise ‘hands-off’ system, I held the steering wheel tight
As someone who doesn’t even enjoy driving an automatic car, it would always be nerve wracking to surrender more control to a driverless vehicle
A camera in the car also monitors the driver to check his gaze – even if he’s wearing sunglasses – and sounds an alarm if he takes his eyes off the road – and beeps when I glance over my shoulder at my passengers in the back view.
If the driver doesn’t react — say, if he’s had a heart attack behind the wheel — that slows the car down to seven miles per hour.
The technology is standard on the latest 2023 model of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E.
It can now be used on 2,300 miles of motorway in England, Scotland and Wales after Britain became the first country in Europe to adopt the technology.
Ford’s system is free for the first 90 days, but after that owners will have to pay £17.99 per month.
The technology is standard on the latest 2023 model of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E
When a monitor above the steering wheel glowed blue to indicate that the system was activated, I nervously took my hands off the wheel
The system monitors road markings, speed signs and traffic conditions and controls steering, acceleration, braking and lane position
At first I had a hard time trusting the technology and there were a few times as we approached a truck I almost grabbed the wheel and put my foot on the brake.
Five cameras on the front and sides of the car mean it also constantly does a bit of maneuvering to keep the car centered in the lane – which is pretty unnerving at 70 mph on the highway.
But it was amazing how quickly I got used to it, so much so that I had to be reminded to hit the accelerator when we turned off the highway.
While I enjoyed the ride, I don’t think I’m quite ready to transfer to a computer just yet. I kept my hands firmly on the wheel as I rolled home in my manual VW.