NHTSA Opens Probe into 130,000 Ford Vehicles over Hands-Free Tech
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening an investigation into Ford Motor's hands-free driving technology BlueCruise after two fatal crashes involving Mustang Mach-E SUVs striking parked vehicles, the agency said on Monday.
The agency's preliminary evaluation into 130,000 2021-2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles is the first step to determine whether the vehicles pose an unreasonable risk to safety.
Ford offers BlueCruise, an advanced hands-free driving system that operates on 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways with no intersections or traffic signals. The system uses a camera-based driver monitoring system to determine driver attentiveness.
Brent Scowen Joins Holman as Managing Director in Canada
Holman announced that Brent Scowen has joined the company as Managing Director of its fleet management division in Canada.
Throughout his career, Scowen has led high-performance teams across a variety of industries including consumer goods, telecommunications, and professional education.
“Brent is an exceptional leader, and he embodies the core values that have long served as the foundation for Holman’s sustained success,” said Holman’s Executive Vice President of International Operations Rick Tousaw.
NHTSA Finalizes Key Safety Rule to Reduce Crashes and Save Lives
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that will make automatic emergency braking (AEB), including pedestrian AEB, standard on all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029.
The new standard requires all cars be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour and that the systems must detect pedestrians in both daylight and darkness.
“The new vehicle safety standards we finalized today will save hundreds of lives and prevent tens of thousands of injuries every year,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
IIHS: Suburu Forester Only Small SUV to Make Top Grade in Front-End Crash Test
By Dave Bean, Content Editor, FMW
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently made their vehicle-to-vehicle front-end crash test more stringent. The results: when small SUVs were subjected to the updated assessment, only the Suburu Forester passed with flying colors.
“This is a vital update to one of our most successful test programs,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “The vast majority of new vehicles now come with automatic emergency braking, and our research shows the technology prevents as many as half of all front-to-rear crashes."
The upgraded small SUV test also revealed that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) appear to be effective in preventing collisions with passenger-sized cars, but not so much with motorcycles or medium or heavy trucks.
EV Connect Deploys Additional Vehicle-Based Authentication Tech with Hubject Integration
EV Connect and Hubject, announced a strategic collaboration to streamline the charging experiences of EV owners worldwide through vehicle-based authentication.
Vehicle-based authentication for EV charging provides a convenient and secure alternative to traditional app-based or credit card terminal-driven charging session initiation.
“We are excited to partner with EV Connect to bring their drivers the best possible charging experience leveraging Hubject’s intercharge roaming platform and Plug&Charge ecosystem,” said Trishan Peruma, CEO of Hubject North America.
