A federal investigation of a crash that killed an Austin man has expanded into a nationwide examination of autonomous driving systems installed on millions of vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now is looking at the self-driving technologies 11 automakers installed on vehicles built in the past five years. The probe began last year with a focus on Ford Motor Co.’s BlueCruise “hands-free highway driving” system after a series of four crashes involving Mustang Mach-Es — including the fatal wreck in Texas in 2024.
Last week, the agency requested more details from the Dearborn, Mich., carmaker about its BlueCruise and similar systems installed on more than 2.5 million Ford and Lincoln autos built in the past five years. It’s also seeking information from other manufacturers that have installed similar “partial driving automation systems” in their vehicles, including Austin-based Tesla Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp…