Blue Cruise observations

[Wayfun]

I left today in a trip from Ky to FL on I75. This is the first time I’ve been able to really test the system. I use it frequently with success on the one mapped road near my home. When I got on I75 this morning it was raining lightly off and on. I would set the cruise and it would go hands free and a 1/4 mile later it would kick off. A mile or two later it would repeat that. It was very annoying trying to use it. This continued until the rain stopped around Knoxville. From there to Atlanta it worked perfect. So I am assuming that the rain messes with the cameras and sensors.

Not sure if it’s related or not, but once in Northern TN I was approaching a sweeping curve and the cruise somehow jumped to 85. The vehicle accelerated like hell into the curve. When I looked down it was almost to 85 mph. That was a little unsettling. When I get to my destination I think I’ll drop in at a Ford dealer and let them check for updates.

 

[mwar99]

At least you actually have hand free Blue Cruise. I can't count on my hands and toes how many people in the last week have posted on FB that they have Blue Cruise when all they have is the adaptive cruise and lane keep assist. It's very scary how many people think they have it and don't.

 

[Wayfun]

To follow up, we arrived at our destination in FL tonight. Normally we stop for one night on the road when we make this trip. With Blue Cruise, it was a more relaxing drive, and the traffic wasn't too bad. So we drove the whole 950 miles in one day. Blue Cruise was the main reason I bought the Platinum trim. After getting south of Knoxville the cruise worked perfectly. At one point a car to my right front started to drift into my lane and the cruise hit the brakes forcefully and avoided a potential accident. I was looking to my left at the time and would not have seen the car coming over in time. I'm sold on BC. Now I want the update so that the turn signal can control lane changes.

 

[sixstring]

Regarding the picture on your dash...

How programmable is that display? are there different presets you can select from that will change the look of that screen? It seems pretty bland.

I rented a new Suburban a few months back and I was able to change the display and all its contents easily. Lots of different screens and info to select from. It was really slick. Also the android auto implementation with maps and stuff was excellent. I have not seen too much on the 23 plat. Android auto on the 2020 is crap - running sync 3.4.

 

[nationalgallery]

Regarding the picture on your dash...

How programmable is that display? are there different presets you can select from that will change the look of that screen? It seems pretty bland.

For BlueCruise, especially in hands free mode, the 2 cameras trained on your eyes watch you very carefully to make sure you're paying attention to what's ahead of you — the dash is deliberately not busy or flashy, which would distract your attention from the road.

 

[Wayfun]

Regarding the picture on your dash...

How programmable is that display? are there different presets you can select from that will change the look of that screen? It seems pretty bland.

I rented a new Suburban a few months back and I was able to change the display and all its contents easily. Lots of different screens and info to select from. It was really slick. Also the android auto implementation with maps and stuff was excellent. I have not seen too much on the 23 plat. Android auto on the 2020 is crap - running sync 3.4.

There are a few different screens available. I don’t think it’s as configurable as my previous Yukon.

 

[SyndicateZ]

Just takes one module glitch for the steering wheel to turn sharply while going highway speeds in Blue Cruise or any manufacturer auto drive mode...

Not a fan of any type of feature that involves going against what I learned in basic driving class/lesson. Always keep your hands on the wheel. Havrnt seen any failure reports on this feature but I still dont trust it

 

[sixstring]

In reality, Blue Cruise is fairly new technology and Ford is fairly new to self driving. It will take years before they get the kinks out. I'm happy with the direction that they are heading.

 

[Old Dog]

So far I’m enjoying the Blue Cruise on my 2022 Platinum. I have experienced no problems and with updates over Wi Fi. Had 2 updates in last 30 days. Currently on version 5.2.1 updated on 10/16/2023

 

[rd618]

Just takes one module glitch for the steering wheel to turn sharply while going highway speeds in Blue Cruise or any manufacturer auto drive mode...

Not a fan of any type of feature that involves going against what I learned in basic driving class/lesson. Always keep your hands on the wheel. Havrnt seen any failure reports on this feature but I still dont trust it

Takes just one moron who's on their phone or playing with their radio to cause an accident. A whole lot more of those going around than "glitches" in redundant systems.

Also, from a programming perspective, these systems have fail-safes so they avoid exactly what you're saying.
If the inputs are outside defined bounds, fails to driver
if the outputs are beyond defined bounds, fails to driver
if a solar flair happens and the computer goes down, fails to driver.
if the system tries to fail to driver and does not allow it, it disables the system, and defaults to driver.

 

[Meeker]

Takes just one moron who's on their phone or playing with their radio to cause an accident. A whole lot more of those going around than "glitches" in redundant systems.

Also, from a programming perspective, these systems have fail-safes so they avoid exactly what you're saying.
If the inputs are outside defined bounds, fails to driver
if the outputs are beyond defined bounds, fails to driver
if a solar flair happens and the computer goes down, fails to driver.
if the system tries to fail to driver and does not allow it, it disables the system, and defaults to driver.

So the better these systems get, the less actual driving the driver does. Which means, when it does fail back to the driver, who is likely doing something else, their skills have degraded / atrophied and they'll be less capable of dealing with the situation.
If you worked from home for months straight in 2020 like a large number of people did, you would likely have noticed how your first day back on the road your skills weren't up to their usual standard.
Self driving is going to increase the number of low-skill drivers on the roads by orders of magnitude. But hey, they "reverted control to the driver" just before they died so no liability...
Sorry for the rant - this is one "convenience" feature I am happy to do without.

 

[nationalgallery]

So the better these systems get, the less actual driving the driver does. Which means, when it does fail back to the driver, who is likely doing something else,

The driver can't be 'doing something else' during BlueCruise hands free: the system will very quickly give you an audible and dash-message warning, then will start slowing down and brake-checking you, and then disengage; so you can't get habituated to doing other things and/or not paying attention while using BlueCruise.

BlueCruise also seems to employ some degree of learning: the more frequently it has to warn you to 'pay attention' the less tolerant it becomes to non-attention and the quicker it will react to it.

 

[Wayfun]

For BlueCruise, especially in hands free mode, the 2 cameras trained on your eyes watch you very carefully to make sure you're paying attention to what's ahead of you — the dash is deliberately not busy or flashy, which would distract your attention from the road.

That is for sure. I have tested their function by closing my eyes momentarily, looking at the radio a bit too long, and nodding my head. In all cases, the alarm went off within a couple of seconds and told me to be alert and take over. It nags me more than my wife.

 

[Old Dog]

So far I’m enjoying the Blue Cruise on my 2022 Platinum. I have experienced no problems and with updates over Wi Fi. Had 2 updates in last 30 days. Currently on version 5.2.1 updated on 10/16/2023

Update yesterday another update downloaded. Now 5.3.1

 

[The Chairman]

So the better these systems get, the less actual driving the driver does. Which means, when it does fail back to the driver, who is likely doing something else, their skills have degraded / atrophied and they'll be less capable of dealing with the situation.
If you worked from home for months straight in 2020 like a large number of people did, you would likely have noticed how your first day back on the road your skills weren't up to their usual standard.
Self driving is going to increase the number of low-skill drivers on the roads by orders of magnitude. But hey, they "reverted control to the driver" just before they died so no liability...
Sorry for the rant - this is one "convenience" feature I am happy to do without.

So when autopilots were added to aircraft, it made flying more dangerous?

 

[Meeker]

So when autopilots were added to aircraft, it made flying more dangerous?

Fair enough - if autopilot (and we're talking more advanced that Blue Cruise, I'm thinking full hands-off autopilot) is only used occasionally or for parts of the voyage you're probably right. I believe that pilots constantly train for manual control and are evaluated on it. Not so for drivers (yet).

 

[Tuebor]

So when autopilots were added to aircraft, it made flying more dangerous?

An autopilot isn't there to necessarily make it safer - it's to relieve the workload and fatigue, which can help make flying safer. Unfortunately, it's created its own set of hazards.

 

[Ugh_J]

Aside from both bluecruise and lane-keeping not knowing how to deal with anything other than clearly marked lane paint in the same consistent color (yes, we've seen very bright, smooth, visible lines that changed from a almost yellow to a darker, orange color cause it to drop lane-keeping), the biggest complaint I have is that it really, REALLY wants to hug either the center-line in a two-lane or whichever lane edge (usually the right edge) is nearest to the 18-wheeler that we're passing on a multi-lane interstate. It fights us for lane position a lot, especially in curves, which is more tiring than turning off lane-keeping and just driving. I can't think of anything more adrenaline-inducing than going around a curve and having the steering decide to yank you in a direction you weren't anticipating.

Honestly, the 22 and 23 I've driven are so much worse about all this twitchy behavior than my 20 that just nudges me a little if I drift too far to one side.

 

[rd618]

Fair enough - if autopilot (and we're talking more advanced that Blue Cruise, I'm thinking full hands-off autopilot) is only used occasionally or for parts of the voyage you're probably right. I believe that pilots constantly train for manual control and are evaluated on it. Not so for drivers (yet).

Autopilot and various forms of it can do everything from cruising to unassisted landing. Fully hands-off. There is very little negative to these systems on improving safety. The only major disadvantage of these systems is situational awareness and adapted responses to untrained events. Of which tests prove humans are way worse in both of those situations anyway.
From a practical standpoint the radar in planes know how far and where an object is moving. The best a human can do is guess how far something is and where it's going. Same thing with the ground. They use more sophisticated "lane markers" embedded in the runway.

Same as stability control or collision avoidance, nearly all people will benefit from these systems. Can people find a use case for turning them off, sure, but that's the exception.