No hands on the wheel even in the Czech Republic, Ford has extended the availability of BlueCruise – News

A number of car manufacturers today offer sophisticated steering assistance systems that provide the ability to keep the car in line and change speed automatically. However, most of these systems require the driver not only to look at the traffic in front of the car, but also to keep his hands on the steering wheel.

One exception is the BlueCruise system from Ford, which is a second level assistance system – but with the “hands, eyes on” function. The driver must keep monitoring the events in front of the car, but he can take his hands off the steering wheel. And this is new on more than 133,000 kilometers of highways in European countries.

The system was first introduced in the US, and then received permission to operate in Great Britain in 2023. And now it has received approval from the European Commission, which allows it to be used in 15 European country, including the Czech Republic. The so-called The automaker also presents Blue Zones, where the system can be used, independently Czech website. It applies to most of the Czech motorway network.

The BlueCruise system is currently available in the Ford Mustang Mach-E. For new cars it will be available automatically, for older cars it should be available after a software update.

BlueCruise controls steering, acceleration, braking, lane position, distance from the vehicle in front and is able to automatically adjust speed according to traffic signs. It can then come to a standstill in traffic jams. A camera located under the dashboard monitors whether the driver is actually monitoring what is happening in front of the car. It also monitors the position of the head.

Car owners who support this feature will have 90 days to try the system, which will then be available on a monthly subscription basis. At the same time, the automaker says that 420,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles are currently using the system. Worldwide, the BlueCruise system should have covered about 342 million kilometers.