Ford launches hands-off drive tech

BlueCruise offers semi-autonomous driving on parts of the UK motorway network

- WILL RIMELL

Hands-off driving is now legal in the UK as Ford becomes the first car maker to offer semiautonomous cruising on 2300 miles of British motorways the first country in Europe to allow such a move.

Offered as a £17.99 monthly subscription for 2023-model year Mustang Mach-Es, BlueCruise is level two-plus autonomous technology (a new, semi-official classification). The system allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel while the car drives itself in designated, premapped 'Blue Zones' (which include the M25 and the M40), following approval from the Department for Transport.

The new BlueCruise technology - launched in parts of the US and Canada last year - works as an add-on to Ford's current Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (IACC) and will take over when entering these zones with IACC active. Drivers will be alerted when they can remove their hands from the wheel.

Like IACC, BlueCruise will keep pace with other vehicles (up to the set speed and to a limit of 80mph), slow down with traffic and adjust speed depending on road signs.