US to probe Texas fatal crash that may have involved Ford partially automated driving system

spicy_taco

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jack
Joined
Sep 23, 2022
Threads
41
Messages
582
Reaction score
414
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
2023 Mach-E Premium AWD
Country flag
" collided with the rear of a Honda CR-V " <- from the news article
" The other car (Older SUV) " <- from the front-end thread

The coincidence is just too much.
Sponsored

 

CompilerBreak

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
295
Reaction score
439
Location
Seattle
Vehicles
2021 MME GT
Country flag
There's been at least 2 fatal accidents like this in my area, night time, stalled car middle of the road with no lights on. It's really sad, but if you're not in a we'll lit area it's near impossible for a human to avoid at highway speeds.
 

New2EV

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Threads
16
Messages
408
Reaction score
568
Location
Palm Bay Florida
Vehicles
Charger, Explorer, Chevelle, Mach E
Occupation
Engineer
Country flag
" collided with the rear of a Honda CR-V " <- from the news article
" The other car (Older SUV) " <- from the front-end thread

The coincidence is just too much.
And the bio of the OP from the front end damage thread says Houston TX
 

SpaceEVDriver

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Threads
71
Messages
2,651
Reaction score
4,774
Location
Arizona
Vehicles
2022 CA Route 1 AWD, ER; 2023 Lightning Lariat ER
Occupation
Planetary Science
Country flag
The typical distance a driver can see objects without self-illumination ahead at night is about 350 feet, which also happens to be about the average stopping distance (including reaction time) for an alert driver traveling at 70 mph. In other words, a stopped vehicle in the middle of a 70-80 mph road is very likely to be hit.

But the fact that it was hit as hard as that other post's images show suggest that the driver was either traveling not a little faster than 70 mph or the driver was not alert (letting BC drive for them means reaction time is significantly slower).
 

GreaseMonkey

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Oct 3, 2021
Threads
21
Messages
3,262
Reaction score
5,209
Location
Chicago, IL
Vehicles
24 Mach-E GT
Country flag
The typical distance a driver can see objects without self-illumination ahead at night is about 350 feet, which also happens to be about the average stopping distance (including reaction time) for an alert driver traveling at 70 mph. In other words, a stopped vehicle in the middle of a 70-80 mph road is very likely to be hit.

But the fact that it was hit as hard as that other post's images show suggest that the driver was either traveling not a little faster than 70 mph or the driver was not alert (letting BC drive for them means reaction time is significantly slower).
An alert driver would have changed lanes too.
 


areacode413

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Dec 14, 2023
Threads
8
Messages
303
Reaction score
308
Location
MA
Vehicles
MachE
Country flag
Imagine losing your alternator on the highway and not pulling over??? I have had this happen to me twice with an automatic and no issues getting to the breakdown lane.
 

Mirak

Banned
Banned
Joined
Oct 8, 2020
Threads
111
Messages
3,754
Reaction score
6,166
Location
Kansas
Vehicles
"Sonic" 2021 MME Grabber Blue First Edition
Country flag
So, in all seriousness, BC actually requires more driver attentiveness than any old ICE with standard cruise control… It does an excellent job of detecting if your eyes aren’t on the road.

Granted, the system cannot detect stationary objects when moving at highway speed - at least not to stop in time. But how is that BC’s fault? Again, any car with regular cruise control wouldn’t stop, either.

So I’m having trouble understanding how BC could be blamed for this. Unless the argument is that BC encourages people to be less attentive. But again, it does a great job of monitoring for attentiveness.
 

Gloff

Well-Known Member
First Name
Sean
Joined
Mar 26, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
340
Reaction score
581
Location
San Francisco
Website
www.serramonteford.com
Vehicles
2024 F150 Lightning, 2023 Mach E Extended Range, 2007 Mini Cooper Cab,
Occupation
Sales Manager
Country flag
That would be crazy if you hit and kill some one. Then casually goes on a forum and ask, is my car repairable.
You have no idea of the circumstances of the collision, and the driver may not have known that the driver of the other vehicle died. It's very possible that he was taken away in an ambulance and announced later. Your post in the other thread is in poor taste and should be removed.
 

DanGJR213

Active Member
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Sep 13, 2022
Threads
1
Messages
26
Reaction score
19
Location
SAT
Vehicles
2023 Mach-E CA RT1
Country flag
My parent live off of the exit where the accident happened. It's super dark on that stretch of the road as they are widening the highway; no shoulders just stone guardrails.

the local news reported the driver of the Mach E was from Houston and the person in the Honda CRV was from Austin.
 

Hammered

Banned
Banned
Joined
Oct 4, 2022
Threads
26
Messages
1,303
Reaction score
1,175
Location
SE US
Vehicles
2022 PB F150, MME GTPE
Country flag
That would be crazy if you hit and kill some one. Then casually goes on a forum and ask, is my car repairable.
Perhaps they really need their vehicle and have no fault in the course of events.
 

Mach1E

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2021
Threads
93
Messages
10,509
Reaction score
13,295
Location
Florida
Vehicles
69 Mach 1, 11 GT, 21 GTPE- sold, 24 Taycan 4S, 20 F type R
Country flag
Wow.

I hope people keep in mind that someone died in this story. Try to be respectful.

It is good that there is an investigation, but I will be shocked if BC is found to be at fault.

Stopped car on the interstate with no lights at nighttime, not much a driver or a lvl 2 autonomous could do.

Every once in a while we see a “car going the wrong way on the highway” story. Same goes with that situation. Not much people can do.
 

JohnFoxeSheets

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Threads
28
Messages
3,415
Reaction score
5,514
Location
San Francisco
Website
johnfoxesheets.com
Vehicles
2022 Iced Blue Silver Mach E GT
Occupation
Retired Engineer
Country flag
That would be crazy if you hit and kill some one. Then casually goes on a forum and ask, is my car repairable.
That is my thought exactly, but honestly I strongly suspect that's indeed what happened. I noticed that he never responded to people who said, "I hope you're both alright."

Cars have reflectors in addition to lights. An alert driver should (hopefully) see the reflectors and take evasive action(s) such as braking and changing lanes. IIRC the OP in the other thread said he hit the stopped car at 70MPH, meaning that he either didn't slow at all (i.e., didn't see it), or had been traveling faster.

This is a tragedy regardless of the details and who is at fault. (I lost my mom in a car crash, so I get it.) But if this is the same guy as the is-this-totaled post, that's crazy.
 
Last edited:

ArthurDOB

Well-Known Member
First Name
Arthur
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
24
Messages
1,303
Reaction score
1,359
Location
Twin Cities West Metro, Minnesota
Vehicles
Mach-e Premium AWD STD Range (Delivered 5/22/23)
Occupation
High School Teacher
Country flag
That would be crazy if you hit and kill some one. Then casually goes on a forum and ask, is my car repairable.
That was my thought. Repairing it would be the least of my concerns.
 

Mach-Lee

Well-Known Member
First Name
Lee
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Threads
262
Messages
11,365
Reaction score
25,025
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium AWD
Occupation
Sci/Eng
Country flag
So I’m having trouble understanding how BC could be blamed for this. Unless the argument is that BC encourages people to be less attentive. But again, it does a great job of monitoring for attentiveness.
NTSB just wants to collect all the facts and see if there were any factors associated with the automation that contributed to or mitigated the crash. One question they may look at is if the car performed any emergency braking before impact. It may not have braked at all, which could be normal at that speed. They are just very interested in fatal crash data involving automated driving even if everything worked as designed.
 

Hammered

Banned
Banned
Joined
Oct 4, 2022
Threads
26
Messages
1,303
Reaction score
1,175
Location
SE US
Vehicles
2022 PB F150, MME GTPE
Country flag
Cars have reflectors in addition to lights. An alert driver should (hopefully) see the reflectors and take evasive action(s) such as braking and changing lanes.
Maybe if they could run high beams. Fact is low beams are pretty shitty unless they're blinding other drivers -- they run into the ground 100 or so feet out. Even the slightest undulations in the road and visibility drops considerably. I'm sure just about everyone has hit something in the road at some point due to variables beyond your control.
Wow.

I hope people keep in mind that someone died in this story. Try to be respectful.
The CRV driver wasn't here, and nobody has claimed to know them. I don't really see anything special about this individual that distinguishes them from the other 103,000 people that died that day, or the 2.27 million people that have died since.

The most important thing to take away from this is
DON'T STOP YOUR Fn CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE. I feel bad for the MME driver who's been put in this position.
Sponsored

 
 







Top