Ford F-150 Incident

Update SGO Report 502-1470: The son of the driver of the subject vehicle (who was not in the subject vehicle when the incident occurred) reported that the vehicle was being operated at 75-80mph in "self-driving mode" when the steering wheel locked, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into an exit sign on the interstate. The driver's son reported that the vehicle then accelerated uncontrollably for 260 yards and crashed into a tree where it came to a stop. Additional investigation shows that the subject vehicle was traveling at 77mph with some form of cruise control engaged (either basic or adaptive cruise control) in the right lane of a six-lane, divided highway. The driver was unbelted, with a chime defeat device latched into the buckle of the driver's seatbelt. The lane in which the subject vehicle was traveling terminated at an exit ramp. Warnings that the lane was going to end were provided as early as 2000 feet (over 600 yards) in advance, and signs were posted cautioning drivers to reduce speed to 20mph on the exit ramp. For unknown reasons, the driver did not follow the lane onto the exit ramp and instead continued traveling straight off the road. Ford understands that the vehicle struck the exit sign and then continued off-road and struck a stump and then a tree. The driver of the subject vehicle was fatally injured in the crash. Ford records show that the subject vehicle was not equipped with the operating system necessary to make BlueCruise functional. The subject vehicle was equipped with both ACC and LCA. Ford has confirmed that the subject vehicle was being operated with some form of cruise control engaged when the incident occurred. Ford has not been able to confirm whether LCA was engaged at the time of (or within 30 seconds before) the accident.